Putin claims he prefers Biden over Trump

Driving the news: Russia-1 TV host Pavel Zarubin asked Putin who was "better for us" between Biden and Trump during an interview broadcast Wednesday in Russia and posted online, per translations into English by Reuters and others.

• "[Biden] is a more experienced, predictable person. He is a politician of the old school," Putin said.
• "But we will work with any leader of the United States, who is trusted by the American people."
• Representatives for Biden and Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Zoom out: The comments come after Biden on Tuesday accused Trump of cowering to Putin over recent comments regarding NATO.

• Trump was accused during his presidency of being too favorable of Putin.

Of note: Putin told Zarubin he "did not get full satisfaction" from his interview with Tucker Carlson last week.

• "I thought that he would behave aggressively and ask so-called sharp questions," he said of the experience of his first sit-down in Moscow with a Western interviewer since his forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, per the Guardian.
• "I was not just prepared for this, I wanted it, because it would give me the opportunity to respond in the same way," he said.

• Putin added that since Moscow couldn't have direct dialogue with the West in the current circumstances, "we should be grateful to Mr. Carlson for the fact that we can do this through him as an intermediary."

Go deeper: Putin tells Tucker Carlson he's "ready to talk" on releasing WSJ journalist

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more comment from Russian leader Vladimir Putin and further context.