Putin Isn’t Ready to Accept Trump Lost the Election

The Kremlin says it will wait until the official result of the US election before commenting, and noted the legal challenges mounted by President Donald Trump.

The Associated Press called Pennsylvania for Joe Biden on Saturday, putting him above the 270 Electoral College votes he needed for victory. But Trump is refusing to concede, claiming without evidence that Biden and his allies are stealing the election.

While many world leaders were quick to congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory, Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to publicly acknowledge the result.

According to Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that it was better to wait for the official results before commenting, a process that could take many more weeks. He added that Russia is ready to work with any US leader and attempt to normalise relations between the states. 

Multiple US inquiries concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election to boost then-candidate Trump’s campaign. As recently as September, Trump expressed affinity with the Russian president. "I like Putin, he likes me,” Trump said on the campaign trail.

Biden meanwhile was serving as Vice President under Barack Obama in 2014, when US-Russian relations hit a new low point as Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.