While many world leaders congratulated President-elect Biden within days of the election, the Kremlin at the time said it considered it “correct” to wait for the official results before Putin congratulated the winner.
Vladimir Putin wished the President-elect the best of luck and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which bear a special responsibility for global security and stability, can really contribute to solving many problems and challenges facing the world, despite their differences. is currently facing, ”said a Kremlin lecture on Tuesday.
Putin noted that “Russian-American cooperation based on the principles of equality and mutual respect would serve the interests of people in both countries and the entire international community.”
“For my part, I am ready to cooperate and interact with you,” said the Russian president.
Trump praised Putin during his presidency and raised suspicion about his campaign’s possible connection to Russian interference in the election. The same friendly relationship cannot be expected with Biden, who has vowed to treat foreign interference “as an act of hostility.”
Biden will work hard with partners and allies to push back on what Russia is planning, be it to kill Russian citizens abroad, or to kill their own opposition leaders, such as the alleged attempt with [Alexey] Navalny in Siberia, or activities in Syria, Crimea, etc., “Karin von Hippel, Director General of the Royal United Services Institute, told CNN in the wake of last month’s election.” So I think he [Putin] knows that much more effort will be made to contain Russia. “
Russia has had a free hand for several years now – including at the end of President Barack Obama’s tenure – according to Von Hippel, a former senior non-political adviser to the State Department under the Obama administration.
In late October, Biden called Russia “the main threat” to US national security in an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS. Kremlin spokesman Peskov responded by saying that such rhetoric reinforced “hatred of the Russian Federation”.
In the run-up to the election, the two countries did not reach an agreement to renew a major arms reduction treaty signed in 2010 by President Obama and Dmitry Medvedev – which the Trump administration pushed for ahead of election day.
Putin previously indicated that he saw strategic treaties as one of the possible points for cooperation with Biden.
CNN’s Eliza Mackintosh reported.