Russian President Vladimir Putin will congratulate any new US president in a timely manner as soon as the official results of the election are announced, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday.
Answering a question as to whether Putin's "silence" could be interpreted as a signal that Moscow rejects the results of the vote, Peskov assured that this was not the case.
He noted that Joe Biden had been declared the winner by US media, whereas the official tally has not been announced yet and some states are recounting votes.
Putin's decision is not influenced by the fact that most of the global leaders have already extended congratulations to Biden, Peskov assured.
On Wednesday, China’s President Xi Jinping congratulated projected US President-elect Joe Biden. On Monday, US President Donald Trump authorised the General Services Administration to initiate a formal transition to the Biden team while continuing to dispute the results of the 3 November election, saying he is the winner and refusing to concede defeat.