Nov 9, 2020 - World

Putin declines to congratulate Biden, citing Trump's legal efforts

Dave Lawler

Putin and Trump at the G20 summit in 2019. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Vladimir Putin's spokesman says the Kremlin will wait for an "official announcement" before commenting on the U.S. election — or congratulating President-elect Biden.

Why it matters: Most major world leaders congratulated Biden after the race was called on Saturday, just as Putin quickly congratulated Trump in 2016. But Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman, said this was a different situation due to the "legal procedures that have been announced by the current president."

"We therefore think it appropriate to wait for an official announcement,” Peskov said.
Russian media has seized on Trump's claims that the adoption is rigged to paint a general picture of democratic chaos, per the NYT.
Trump's legal efforts could be a drawn out process, and are likely doomed to fail.

The big picture: Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump's chances, and U.S. intelligence found evidence of similar interference this time around. Biden has promised a more adversarial relationship with Russia and with Putin himself.

Ahead of the election, Putin appeared to hedge his bets. He didn't ultimately agree to Trump's terms for extending the New START nuclear treaty — which would have given Trump a major pre-election win — preferring Biden's approach on that issue.
“We will work with any future president of the United States — the one whom the American people give their vote of confidence,” Putin said last month.

What to watch: Biden and Putin are likely to clash over the next four years, but they'll have to start by making a deal.

New START is set to expire two weeks after Biden takes office. It can be extended by mutual agreement of the two presidents.

Go deeper: World leaders congratulate Biden

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Putin declines to congratulate Biden, citing Trump's legal efforts

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