Mikhail KlimentyevTASS via Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Vladimir Putin (L); Joe Biden
Vladimir Putin is extending his congratulations to former Vice President Joe Biden after the Electoral College officially voted for him to be the next president of the United States on Monday.
A statement from the Kremlin published on Tuesday noted that the Russian president, 68, “wished the president-elect every success” going forward in his new role.
According to the release, Putin also “expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which bear special responsibility for global security and stability, can, despite their differences, effectively contribute to solving many problems and meeting challenges that the world is facing today.”
“The President of Russia noted that with this in mind, Russian-American cooperation, based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, would meet the interests of both nations and the entire international community,” the statement went on.
Giving a direct quote from Putin addressing Biden, 78, the release concluded, “For my part, I am ready for interaction and contacts with you.”
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Mikhail MetzelTASS via Getty Vladimir Putin
Mark Makela/Getty President-elect Joe Biden
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Vote tallies in the 2020 presidential election finished in November, followed by state certifications this month. One by one, lawsuits have failed to persuade the courts of fraud or wrongdoing in the voting process, and the Electoral College on Monday made it official that Biden will become the 46th president of the United States.
A majority of the electors who represent every state as well as Washington, D.C., voted for Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president, according to the Associated Press and The New York Times.
The usually little-watched procedure took place throughout the day Monday across the country, as the 538 presidential electors cast ballots according to their state’s popular-vote winner. Hawaii was the final state to vote in the Electoral College, Monday night, while California’s electors put Biden over the 270-vote threshold.
Biden defeated President Donald Trump 306-232 — the same result that was projected by media outlets days after the Nov. 3 election, even as Trump, 74, began claiming that the election was “stolen.”
He offered no proof, and both the courts and investigators resoundingly rejected his complaints and those of his allies. Local election officials from both parties said they found no evidence of widespread fraud.
Matt Baron/Shutterstock Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
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Putin has been a familiar foreign ally to Trump throughout his presidency, even defending him last December against being impeached for what he called “far-fetched” reasons.
“It’s simply a continuation of internal political struggle,” the Russian president told reporters in Moscow at the time, according to the AP. “The party that lost the (2016) election, the Democratic Party, is trying to achieve results by other means.”
Putin and the Russian government were a primary focus for those lobbying for Trump’s impeachment since 2016, especially during the extended probe into Trump’s election and whether he was aided by Russian influence on American voters. Both men have denied allegations of such collusion.
The Kremlin previously announced on Nov. 9 that Putin would hold off on extending his congratulations to Biden until the 2020 result was official, the Associated Press reported at the time.
According to the AP, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “Obviously, you can see that certain legal procedures are coming there, which were announced by the incumbent president — therefore this situation is different, so we consider it correct to wait for the official announcement.”