The Kremlin has indicated that, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin is awaiting official results from the US presidential election before congratulating a winner.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, November 9 that, it is appropriate for official results to be finalized and declared before President Putin can send in a congratulatory message to the winner.
“We consider it correct to wait for the official results to be finalized. I want to remind you that President Putin repeatedly said he will respect the choice of the American people,” He noted.
Several world leaders have sent congratulatory messages to US president elect Joe Biden since he was announced as the 46th President of the United Sates of America last Saturday, November 7. However, Putin is yet to congratulate the US President elect, though he previously congratulated Donald Trump within an hour in 2016 after his win over Hillary Clinton.
Peskov however noted that, this current election was different due to the numerous legal challenges, with Trump refusing to concede defeat.
“The difference is quite obvious… then there were no announcements of legal challenges,” Peskov said.
He added that Moscow is ready to work with whoever is declared the winner of the US election.
“We hope that with the next president of the United States it will be possible to re-establish a dialogue and together agree on ways to normalize our bilateral relations,” he said.
