Putin congratulates Biden on election victory
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election, according to the Kremlin's website.
"Ready to interact and contact with you," Putin wrote in his message.
The Russian president wished Biden "every success," expressing his belief that together Moscow and Washington can "really contribute to solving many of the challenges that the world is facing now." According to Putin, cooperation between Russia and the United States is in the interests of the peoples of both countries and the "whole international community."
On December 14, members of the Electoral College confirmed Biden’s victory.
Biden is to take office as President of the United States on January 20.
Voting in the U.S. presidential election ended on November 3. Congratulations to Biden began to come right after the preliminary results, according to which the President Donald Trump was defeated. Among the first leaders who congratulated Biden were Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In late November, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent congratulations to Biden.
However, Putin has so far refrained from congratulating Biden, explaining the need to wait for the completion of the procedure adopted in the United States. "It's not that we like someone, we’re just waiting for the end of the internal political confrontation," Putin said on November 22.
After the election, Biden said he was confident that current President Donald Trump would peacefully hand over power to him. "We, the United States of America, have always set the example for the world for the peaceful transition of power. We will do so again," Biden said.
Trump has previously failed to acknowledge defeat with his supporters challenging Biden's victory in the courts. However, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider a Texas lawsuit.