Vladimir Putin said Russia prefers Joe Biden to Donald Trump because he is “more experienced and predictable”.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would pick Joe Biden to win a second term, calling him more experienced than him. Donald Trump.

In an interview with a Russian state television reporter, Putin said He will work with whichever American leader is elected, but noted that he would prefer a Biden victory when asked who would be a better choice from Russia’s point of view.

“Biden has more experience, he’s more predictable, He is an old school politician.“Putin said. “But we will work with any American leader that the American people trust.”

Putin’s comments were the first on the upcoming US presidential election, which will likely pit Biden against Trump, and will heighten tensions between Republicans and Democrats over Biden’s efforts to send more military aid to Kiev.

However, Trump’s recent statements questioning US funding for Ukraine and saying he wants to shake up the NATO alliance may better serve Putin. Biden on Tuesday accused Trump of “bowing to the Russian dictator.”

When asked about speculation about Biden’s health problems, Putin replied that “I’m not a doctor and I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment on that.”

Biden’s team worked to ease Democratic concerns about the alarm raised by the special counsel about Biden’s age and memory. They came in a report that determined that Biden would not be charged with any criminal activity for the possession of classified documents after he left office.

Putin noted that talks about Biden’s health “are gaining momentum and taking an increasingly intense turn in the election campaign in the United States.”

He added that allegations about Biden’s health problems were also circulating when they met in Switzerland in June 2021, adding that he witnessed the opposite and saw the American leader in good health.

“They talked about him being incompetent, but I didn’t see anything like that,” Putin said. “Yeah, he was looking at his papers, honestly, I was looking at mine, no big deal.”

At the same time, Putin noted that he considers the policy of the Biden administration wrong.

Relations between Russia and the West have fallen to their lowest level since the Cold War after Putin sent his troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

“I think the position of the current administration is deeply flawed and wrong, and I have told President Biden as much.”Putin said.

Putin has claimed that he sent troops to Ukraine to protect Russian speakers there and to prevent Russia’s security from being threatened by Ukraine’s bid to join NATO. Ukraine and its Western allies have condemned Moscow’s actions as non-aggression.

The Kremlin chief argued that Moscow was forced to act after Ukraine and its allies refused to honor a 2015 deal to give more power to separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists launched a rebellion in 2014.

“The only thing we can do is regret not taking action sooner, we thought we were dealing with decent people,” Putin said.

When asked about Trump’s statement on Saturday, in which he said he once warned that he would let Russia do whatever it wanted to NATO member states that were “guilty” of devoting 2% of their gross domestic product to defense, Putin responded. Given that it is up to the United States to determine its role in the coalition.

Trump’s statement stands in stark contrast to Biden’s promise to “defend every inch of NATO territory,” as the alliance pledges to do to all members in the event of an attack. It shocked many in Europe, prompting Poland, France and Germany to pledge to strengthen Europe’s security and defense power.

Putin noted that Trump’s statement continued his policy during his first term, when he urged NATO allies in Europe to increase their defense spending.

“He has his own opinion on how relations with partners should develop,” Putin said of Trump. “From their point of view, this has some logic, while from the point of view of the Europeans there is no logic, and they want the United States to continue doing some of the things they did after the creation of NATO. For free. “.

He described NATO as a “foreign policy instrument of the United States” and added that “if the United States thinks it no longer needs this instrument, that is up to it to decide.”

White House spokesman Andrew Bates responded to Trump’s comments, saying: “Encouraging aggression against our closest allies by a murderous regime is appalling and deviant, and threatens American national security, global stability, and our domestic economy.”.

Asked about his impression of last week’s interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Putin said he expected Carlson to be more aggressive. Putin used the visit to push his narrative about the conflict in Ukraine, urge Washington to recognize Moscow’s interests and force Kiev to sit down for talks.

Carlson did not ask Putin about war crimes against Russian troops in Ukraine, nor about his relentless crackdown on dissent.

“I expected him to be aggressive and ask so-called tough questions, and not only was I prepared for that, I wanted it because it gave me a chance to give a tough answer.”Putin said.

(with information from AP)