© Sputnik/Alexey Nikolskii/Reuters/Tom BrennerRussian President Vladimir Putin • Former US VP Joe Biden
In comments to the Rossiya-1 news channel, Putin said that it would have been improper to pre-empt the conclusion of the contest while the results have still not been made certain.
"There is no hidden motivation and nothing unusual and nothing that could cause our relationship to deteriorate... This is purely a formality."Earlier this month, the president's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, informed reporters that Russia would wait to see the final results, or for one candidate to concede, before reaching out to either. He reiterated that "we consider it correct to wait for the official summing up of the results of the elections."
A legal process is ongoing in a number of American states, with both Biden and incumbent President Donald Trump claiming victory in the poll. While US officials say the vote was "the most secure in American history," Trump has refused to hold back on his claims that the election was "rigged," taking to Twitter to announce, "I won this election, by a lot!"
While the results will have to be certified, and are not formalized until a vote by the Electoral College on December 14, a number of world leaders were quick to set up calls with Biden, who lays claim to 306 votes, compared to Trump's 232.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga all spoke to Biden after he proclaimed himself the winner.
Putin's decision to hold off was interpreted by some Western news outlets as "a deliberate snub."
Agreed. Neither would it be unreasonable if Putin beat the living shit out of Biden. For that matter, Biden has several ass-whippings coming from quite a few people. I would buy a ticket to a live broadcast of him getting the piss knocked out of him by the fathers of the kids he groped and by the people he has publicly insulted while he was protected by the SS during his appearances.