Putin attends a meeting with the members of the Security Council
via teleconference call, in Moscow, Russia on November 6,
2020.Alexey NIKOLSKY / Sputnik / AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday congratulated
Joe Biden on winning the US presidential election in November,
saying he hoped the countries could set aside their differences to
promote global security.
Putin wished the US president-elect every success and said that
“for my part, I am ready for collaboration and contacts with you,”
according to a Kremlin statement.
The Russian president was one of the last remaining leaders of
major world countries to have held back on congratulating Biden,
who was confirmed as the next US president by the Electoral College
on Monday.
READ ALSO: Electoral College Confirms Joe Biden’s
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Officials in Moscow, including the country’s elections chief and
foreign minister, had earlier criticised the US elections process,
describing it as archaic and not representative of the will of the
people.
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In his congratulatory telegram to Biden, Putin said that their
countries “bear special responsibility for global security and
stability.”
He said he was confident that Russia and the United States
could, “despite their differences, really contribute to solving
many problems and challenges that the world is currently
facing.”
Biden is expected to take a tougher stand against Russia than
outgoing US President Donald Trump, who he slammed during the
campaign for having “embraced so many autocrats around the world,
starting with Vladimir Putin”.
Russia was accused of interfering in the 2016 US election to
help get Trump elected, in the hope he would take a softer line
with Moscow.
-AFP