Kremlin: Putin won't congratulate winner before final US election results are out
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is waiting for the official results of the US presidential race to be announced before commenting on its outcome or congratulating a winner, citing the legal challenges raised by incumbent President Donald Trump to Joe Biden's election victory.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday during a conference call with reporters that Moscow believed it was appropriate to wait for the final official results to be announced before congratulating anyone.
"We think it appropriate to wait for the official vote count," he said.
When asked about why Putin had swiftly congratulated Trump's victory over rival Hillary Clinton after he won the Electoral College votes in 2016, Peskov explained that the 2020 election was obviously different in that legal challenges had been launched.
"You can see that there are certain legal procedures that have been announced by the current president. That is why the situations are different and we therefore think it appropriate to wait for an official announcement," said Peskov.
Peskov noted that Putin had already voiced his readiness to show respect to the American people's choice and establish dialog with any person who becomes the US president.
He said the Russian president had repeatedly expressed hope to work with the future US administration to find a way to normalize bilateral relations.
"President Putin has repeatedly said he will show respect for whatever choice the American people makes," Peskov said.
US allegations that Moscow had meddled in the 2016 US presidential election in an attempt to help Trump get elected strained the ties between the two sides. The Kremlin rejected all allegations of interfering in the race for White House.
Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Biden by a huge margin after the former vice president surpassed the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes.
But refusing to concede, Trump has launched a number of lawsuits in several US states alleging massive voter fraud and demanding a recount, which he believes, would make him the 46th president of the US.
Most experts believe the Trump campaign's lawsuits are unlikely to sway the final outcome of the election.
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