Kremlin figures are celebrating Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the US presidential election race, with a senior Vladimir Putin politician accusing him of “running away” after realising he would not win.
During a visit to Cuba, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said Biden “has created problems around the world and in his own country.”
Putin’s former adviser argued that Biden should be held accountable “for the war unleashed in Ukraine, the destruction of the economies of European states and the policy of sanctions against Russia and other countries.”
He added that the US leader, who faced Republican candidate Donald Trump, made the decision after “seeing that he would not be elected” and is now “running away without waiting for the elections.”
While many world leaders have praised the 81-year-old’s record in office and his decades as a public servant, Volodin is among Putin’s allies who have responded to the news with criticism and sarcastic comments.
US President Joe Biden speaks during a presidential debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin (right with Vladimir Putin) said Biden “has created problems all over the world”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram: “Joseph Biden has announced that he is leaving the presidential race, but has not specified where.”
He added that “the next step” after Biden’s announcement “should be an investigation into the collusion of the American media and political circles that concealed the true state of affairs regarding his mental state, manipulated public opinion and played into the hands of a political party.”
Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov insisted in a statement that the Russian president’s focus was on the war, not the U.S. election.
However, he added that “there are still four months to go before the elections, we have to be attentive and see what happens next.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Biden for his “leadership and support” after the US president recently announced a $225 million arms package for his troubled country.
This included a Patriot system to bolster its air defenses against a deadly onslaught of Russian air strikes.
Writing in X, Zelensky said: ‘Ukraine is grateful to President Biden for his unwavering support for Ukraine’s fight for freedom, which, along with strong bipartisan support in the United States, has been and remains critical.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Biden for his “leadership and support”
“Many important decisions have been made in recent years that will be remembered as bold actions taken by President Biden in response to difficult times. We respect today’s tough but decisive decision.”
For top Democrats, a catalyst for Biden’s fall from grace came with his apparent implosion during last month’s televised election debate.
Pro-Kremlin media and commentators mocked Washington for the president’s actions.which made him stumble over his words and lose his train of thought.
The Kremlin itself also appeared to downplay the importance of the election debate: Putin’s spokesman said the dictator was too busy to wake up and watch the debate.
Putin rarely comments on US elections and has previously vowed to “work with any American leader”
“I don’t think that the Russian president can be expected to set his alarm clock, wake up in the morning and watch a debate in the United States,” his spokesman Peskov said. “After all, it is not an event that is on our agenda.”
Putin rarely comments on U.S. elections and has previously vowed to “work with any American leader.”
In February, he said Biden was a more preferable candidate for Russia as he is “an old-school, more experienced and predictable politician.”
But in May he criticised the US judicial and political systems following Trump’s felony conviction, saying they were being used by the former president’s enemies to damage his re-election chances.