Published: July 22, 2024 10:24 am
Author: RT
US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he will not seek reelection in November, and has endorsed his vice president
Moscow cannot predict what Kamala Harris’ approach to Russia would be if she is nominated as the Democratic Party’s US presidential election candidate, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said. Harris has not played any meaningful role in bilateral relations as US vice president, except for a few “unfriendly” remarks, he added.
US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he will not seek reelection in the November 5 vote. The 81-year-old had faced increasing pressure from within the Democratic Party to step aside in the wake of his disastrous performance during last month’s debate against Republican rival Donald Trump.
Shortly after making his decision public, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris as the Democratic Party nominee.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Peskov said: “At the moment, we cannot evaluate the potential candidacy of Ms. Harris in terms of our bilateral relations, for any contribution on her part has not been noticed so far.”
Statements Harris has made on Russia to date “have been full of rather unfriendly rhetoric toward our country,” Peskov added. “We haven’t registered any other actions by her, whether positive or negative, regarding our bilateral relations.”
According to Peskov, Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race “cannot be a priority topic on our agenda” as it is not an internal Russian matter.
“It’s not for us to evaluate decisions made by the [US] president and candidates,” the Kremlin representative told journalists.
The recent developments “should preoccupy US voters,” Peskov said.
When asked whether the Russian leadership was surprised by Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, Peskov replied: “Frankly speaking, what has been happening in the US in recent years has taught us not to be surprised by anything.”
Moscow was “not surprised a lot,” he clarified, adding that Russia is closely following the way the presidential race in the US is unfolding. Peskov noted that the Kremlin does the same with respect to “all other major countries of the world.”
