Vladimir Putin has made a surprising endorsement for who he wants to win the 2024 US election.
The Russian president has long been considered friendlier with this year’s Republican nominee Donald Trump, with the former president calling Mr Putin a “genius” early in 2022.
But speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, he said Kamala Harris was Russia’s preferred choice for the next US president.
When asked how he feels about the November election, the Russian leader said that as President Joe Biden had recommended his supporters to back Ms Harris, “we will do the same, we will support her”.
“She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that everything is fine with her,” Mr Putin said with a smile before suggesting this could mean she would refrain from further sanctions against Russia.
Putin is mischief-making when he claims he wants Harris to win
Moscow correspondent@IvorBennett
So, the Kremlin backs Kamala, apparently… Why? Because of her “infectious” laugh.
Safe to say, Vladimir Putin is having a little chuckle himself here. His comments are almost certainly more mischief-making than a statement of fact because, as we know, Russia’s president doesn’t always say what he thinks.
So why would he say this? With relations between Moscow and Washington as bad as they are, he will know that any endorsement of a candidate might actually harm their chances come November, rather than improve them.
So that might well be what Vladimir Putin is trying to do here, hoping instead that Donald Trump takes power.
And why would he want that? Because in all likelihood, it would mean a cut to US aid to Ukraine, which in turn would significantly boost Russia’s prospects on the battlefield.
The election may well be “a choice for the American people”, as Putin put it, but it’s clear that Moscow is watching it very closely.
The Russian president then pointed out Mr Trump, as president, had introduced more sanctions against Russia than anyone in the White House before him.
He then said: “Ultimately, the choice is up to the American people, and we will respect that choice.”
When Mr Biden was still the Democratic nominee, Mr Putin also said he preferred him to Mr Trump as the current president was a more predictable “old school” politician and was better for Russia.
Mr Putin did say last year that the former president was being “persecuted for political reasons” and claimed the US political system was “rotten”.
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US intelligence agencies have determined Russia ran a disinformation campaign to boost Mr Trump’s campaign against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Russia has denied doing so.
Mr Putin also claimed Russian forces were now gradually pushing Ukrainian soldiers out of the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a counter-incursion on 6 August.
“The enemy’s goal was to make us nervous and worry and to transfer troops from one sector to another and to stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in the Donbas,” he said.
“Did it work? No.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Sky’s partner network NBC News earlier this week that Ukraine plans to hold on to the Russian territory it has seized indefinitely.