On Wednesday, Russia commented on the turmoil surrounding the US election, which included an assassination attempt on Donald Trump and President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race, indicating deep fractures within American society that risk 'falling into a nosedive'. Former President Trump, the Republican nominee, was attacked at a campaign event on July 13, while Biden stepped down from his re-election campaign on Sunday, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, did not explicitly state a preference for who should be the next US president when questioned by Reuters. Zakharova noted that the US aims to navigate the current year without 'falling into a nosedive', highlighting the evident 'deep divisions in American society' and 'civil conflict'. Despite these internal issues, the US continues to perceive Russia as a significant threat. Zakharova cautioned against any illusions about the 'American electoral theatre'.
As of Wednesday morning, President Vladimir Putin had not publicly commented on Biden's departure from the race. Historically, Putin has indicated that Russia might favor Biden over Trump. However, US intelligence suggests that Russia would actually prefer a Trump win, based on previous assessments that Moscow attempted to influence the 2016 and 2020 elections to Trump's advantage. Russia has consistently denied interfering in US elections, despite assertions by the late Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin that he did so in the 2016 election.
Zakharova stated, 'Blaming Russia for its own troubles, miscalculations, problems, mistakes, and shortcomings seems to me a manifestation of the disease of American democracy.' She reiterated Russia's stance of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, emphasizing that they do not exert influence or pressure on electoral processes, and this principle applies to the upcoming US elections as well.
