Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says the Kremlin will not sleep for an “reliable announcement” sooner than commenting on the U.S. election — or congratulating President-elect Biden.

Why it issues: Most predominant world leaders congratulated Biden after the speed was known as on Saturday, upright as Putin lickety-split congratulated Trump in 2016. But Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman, acknowledged this was a varied space this skill that of the “factual procedures which have been launched by the present president.”

• “We therefore deem it appropriate to serve for an reliable announcement,” Peskov acknowledged.
• Russian media has seized on Trump’s claims that the adoption is rigged to color a overall image of democratic chaos, per the NYT.
• Trump’s factual efforts would possibly perhaps also be a drawn out direction of, and are probably doomed to fail.

The colossal image: Russia interfered in the 2016 election to raise Trump’s possibilities, and U.S. intelligence stumbled on proof of the same interference this time spherical. Biden has promised a extra adversarial relationship with Russia and with Putin himself.

• Sooner than the election, Putin perceived to hedge his bets. He didn’t in the extinguish conform to Trump’s phrases for extending the New START nuclear treaty — which would have given Trump a predominant pre-election eliminate — preferring Biden’s methodology on that advise.
• “We can work with any future president of the US — the one whom the American other folks give their vote of self perception,” Putin acknowledged final month.

What to gaze: Biden and Putin tend to clash over the next four years, but they will have to start by making a deal.

• New START is scheme to expire two weeks after Biden takes place of work. It’ll even be prolonged by mutual settlement of the two presidents.

Tear deeper: World leaders congratulate Biden