Putin refuses to congratulate Biden despite Trump's decision to hand over power
Russian President Vladimir Putin still sees no need to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. election, said Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov during a press briefing.
According to Peskov, Donald Trump's decision to launch a formal transfer of power to the new administration was "not enough" for Putin to acknowledge Biden's victory.
"You know that the review and recount of votes in some states is still ongoing, without this the results of the elections cannot be officially finalized," Peskov explained the Kremlin's position.
He added that congratulations will be sent to Biden as soon as the election results are fully certified. "Nothing has changed here, as was said from the beginning," Interfax quotes Peskov as saying.
In 2016 Putin was one of the first to congratulate Trump on his victory, without waiting for the official results of the vote, and the Russian government met the preliminary results of the U.S. election with a standing ovation.
Biden was congratulated by EU leaders, as well as all living former US presidents. The day before, Trump announced that he had given a formal order to the U.S. Administration's General Affairs Office to begin preparations for the transfer process, unlocking Biden's budget to form a team.
Trump stressed that he does not recognize the defeat and intends to continue litigation. "Our case continues decisively, we will continue our fight, and I believe that we will win," he said.