Kremlin prefers Biden over Trump, saying Kamala Harris used ‘unfriendly rhetoric’ towards Russia

Joe Biden dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee on July 21. Picture: Jim WATSON / AFP

Joe Biden dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee on July 21. Picture: Jim WATSON / AFP

Published Jul 22, 2024

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The Kremlin said Monday it had noted the "unfriendly rhetoric" against Russia used by US Vice President, Kamala Harris, the frontrunner to replace Joe Biden in the US presidential election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said previously that Moscow would prefer Biden over Donald Trump, calling the Democrat "more predictable."

Asked what the Kremlin made of Harris now looking likely to become the Democrats' candidate, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "There have been some statements which were full of unfriendly rhetoric towards our country."

He did specify what comments he was referring to.

Harris, like Biden, has been a staunch backer of Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022.

Vice President Kamala Harris has launched her 2024 presidential campaign after Joe Biden pulled out of the race amid concerns about his age and health. Graphic: Graphic News

Earlier this year she said the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison was "a further sign of Putin's brutality."

She has also called Russia's actions in Ukraine "horrendous atrocities," "gruesome," "barbaric," and "inhumane."

Peskov said Monday that Moscow could not "assess Harris's potential candidacy from the point of view of our bilateral relations, because so far we have not noticed her contribution to our bilateral relations."

Other than her "unfriendly" statements, Peskov said: "We have not recorded anything she's done in terms of our bilateral relations, either positively or negatively."

Biden on Sunday endorsed Harris to replace him in the presidential election, shortly after he announced he was dropping out with under four months to go until the vote.

AFP