Still, Putin has expressed strong opposition to Washington’s foreign policy under Biden.
Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called U.S. President Joe Biden more “predictable” than Donald Trump but said the Kremlin was ready to work with whoever wins the November election.
When asked by a reporter who Russia would like to win in a possible contest between the Democratic incumbent and Republican front-runner Trump, Putin said: “Biden, he’s more experienced. He’s easy to predict, he’s old-school. politician.”
Putin dodged questions about Biden’s age and health, as the president turns 82 just weeks after the election.
“When I met Mr. Biden three years ago, it is true that people were already talking about his incompetence, but I saw nothing like that,” Putin said, apparently referring to the Geneva summit.
U.S. polls show voters have strong concerns about Biden’s age.
The age issue has been compounded by two recent incidents, when Biden confused European leaders with his late predecessor.
The White House was forced last week to fiercely defend the president’s competence after a report by the special counsel described him as an “old man with a poor memory.”
Biden himself responded angrily to the accusation, but then complicated the matter by conflating the presidents of Egypt and Mexico.
Trump, 77, has also recently confused people’s names, comparing his last opponent for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley, with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Mixed up.
Still, Putin has expressed strong opposition to Washington’s foreign policy under Biden.
“What we have to look at is the political stance of the current government, which is extremely harmful and wrong,” Putin said.
The Biden administration has led the Western response to provide aid to Ukraine in its two-year conflict with Russia.
Trump’s public preference for Biden comes despite Biden’s harsh criticism of Putin and Trump’s repeated expressions of admiration for the Kremlin leader.
The Republican has also faced fierce criticism for recently suggesting he would encourage Russia to attack any NATO country he believed was not paying enough to support the alliance.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
