Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it would be better for Moscow if Joe Biden is re-elected the next president of the United States.
Putin praised Biden as a more reliable alternative than Donald Trump.
“[Biden] is a more experienced, predictable person. He is a politician of the old school. But we will work with any leader of the United States, who is trusted by the American people,” Putin said in an interview to Rossiya 1 TV when asked to choose between the two.
Describing Trump as a non-systemic politician, Putin said, “He [Trump] has his own view of how the US should develop relations with its allies and there have been sparks in the past, as well.”
Prior to the 2016 presidential elections, Putin had praised the then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump amid accusations of the Kremlin trying to interfere.
Recently, Trump has faced sharp criticism from the opposition for being soft on Russia. During an election campaign, he said that if NATO allies did not meet their defence spending, he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want”.
In the buildup to the elections, Biden’s opponents have repeatedly questioned the president’s mental abilities to argue and hold office after a series of gaffes.
Putin dismissed questions on Biden’s cognitive health and said he found him sharp when they met three years ago in Geneva.
“When I met with Biden in Switzerland — it was, indeed, a few years ago, three years — even then there were talks about him being incompetent. I saw nothing of the sort. Yes, he glanced at his notes. Honestly, I glanced at mine too,” Putin said. “There’s nothing to it.”
On the ongoing Ukraine war, Putin described the US administration’s approach to Russia as “harmful and mistaken.”
Refusing to show any regret on starting the war with Ukraine, Putin said, “we can only regret that we didn’t act earlier.”
