The Kremlin said Monday it will wait for the “official” results of the U.S. presidential election before commenting on its outcome or congratulating either candidate.
Ever since Mr. Biden claimed victory on Saturday, President Vladimir Putin has remained silent on the matter and said Monday he is aware that legal proceedings regarding the election results are still pending.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow considers it prudent to wait for the official results before commenting on the election.
“We consider it correct to wait for the official results to be finalized. I want to remind you that President Putin repeatedly said he will respect the choice of the American people,” Mr. Peskov said.
“You can see that there are certain legal procedures that have been announced by the current president,” said the Kremlin spokesman.
“That is why the situations are different” as compared with 2016, Peskov added, “and we therefore think it appropriate to wait for an official announcement.”
Currently, some U.S. states are still counting votes, and President Trump has launched legal challenges to the results in several key states.
National Public Radio (NPR) recalled on the night of Nov. 7, 2000, major media outlets, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, and the Associated Press, all declared a win for Al Gore, who was the incumbent vice president and the Democratic nominee for president.
“Viewers around the country would soon see Gore’s face on screen as the projected winner of the presidency. Celebrations began in Democratic headquarters everywhere,” NPR noted in a 2018 service.
It took several weeks to finally sort out the results, which concluded in a victory for George W. Bush.
Meanwhile Jeb Bush, the former Governor of Florida, has already called it a victory for Joe Biden.