President Putin explains for the first time why he has not congratulated the winner of the US election
(Baonghean.vn) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said that not congratulating the winner of the US presidential election will not make bilateral relations worse, because they are already bad.
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: TASS |
Explaining why he has not congratulated the winner of the recent US presidential election, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that all legal details still need to be resolved. According to the Russian leader, delaying the official congratulatory message will not further worsen the relationship between Moscow and Washington, which has long been bad.
"You cannot make a bad relationship worse. It has been broken for a long time," President Putin said in an interview with the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on the Russia-1 TV channel.
"We respect everyone: incumbent President Donald Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden. Therefore, for us, there is no problem. Such things as official congratulations should be carried out in accordance with established practice, and based on a full legal aspect. There are no ulterior motives, and there is nothing unusual or that could serve as a basis for further destruction of relations between Russia and the United States," President Putin further explained.
The Russian leader said that those who sent congratulatory messages to Joe Biden were experienced people. They knew what they were doing and how. At the same time, Mr. Putin recalled the situation in the 2016 election: "At that time, everyone congratulated Hillary Clinton, but then Donald Trump was the winner."
President Putin also affirmed that the Russian government is ready to work with any elected US president. The important thing now is to wait until the final results of the election are announced, and end the "internal political confrontation".
"We will work with anyone who has the trust of American voters," said President Putin.
Responding to a question about plans to congratulate the US president-elect, President Putin said that this only happens according to political practice, when one side recognizes the victory of the other side, or the final results are summarized in a legitimate and legal manner.
"This is completely normal," the Russian President stressed.