(Reuters) – Russia sees U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a more predictable opponent than Republican Donald Trump, though in any case there is no prospect of an improvement in relations with Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a TV reporter with favoured access to the Kremlin, Peskov also appeared dismissive of Trump’s boast that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours if U.S. voters returned him to the White House.
Before Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from November’s election and threw his support behind Harris, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that Moscow preferred Biden over Trump, describing the former as an experienced “old school” type of politician.
With Biden out of the running, Zarubin asked Peskov, laughing: “Then who is our candidate now?”
Peskov, also laughing, replied: “We have no candidate. But, of course, the Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Biden’s predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms. Harris.”
While stating that the election was an internal U.S. matter, Putin and Peskov have offered a variety of opinions at different times. In February, for example, Putin praised Biden for his predictability but also discussed the sensitive topic of his mental fitness for office in comments that appeared designed to sow mischief.
In June, he said Russia did not care who the next U.S. president was, but that the U.S. court system was clearly being used in a political battle against Trump.
Peskov, in the interview published on Sunday, said U.S. steps to “trample on our country’s interests” had exceeded acceptable limits. Bilateral relations were at a historic low point, with “no prospects” at the moment of setting them on a path towards recovery.
The Kremlin spokesman said there was no “magic wand” to resolve the Ukraine crisis overnight in the way that Trump has promised.
He said it was “fantasy” to imagine that the next U.S. president would announce in their inauguration speech that Washington was halting military aid to Ukraine and calling for peace negotiations, and that this would change mindsets in Kyiv.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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