Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin won't congratulate President-elect Joe Biden until legal challenges to the US election are resolved and the result is official, the Kremlin announced Monday.
Putin is one of a handful of world leaders who have not commented on Biden's victory, which was called by major news organisations on Saturday. But President Donald Trump's team has promised legal action in the coming days and refused to concede his loss, while alleging large-scale voter fraud, so far without proof.
When Trump won in 2016, Putin was prompt in offering congratulations but Trump's challenger in that election, Hillary Clinton, also conceded the day after the vote.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that this year is different.
Obviously, you can see that certain legal procedures are coming there, which were announced by the incumbent president therefore this situation is different, so we consider it correct to wait for the official announcement, he said.
The leaders of China, Brazil and Turkey also are holdouts in offering congratulations. And Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also said he would wait to comment until the legal challenges over the vote were resolved.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday offered a similar explanation of why President Xi Jinping has stayed silent.
We understand the presidential election result will be determined following US laws and procedures, he said.
When pointed out that China is one of the few countries which has not yet made a statement on the US presidential election results, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: We have noticed that Biden declared he is the winner of the election .
Our understanding is that the outcome of the election will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures," he said.
Asked when will China make its statement or will it wait until President Donald Trump makes his stand clear, Wang said: We will follow international customary practices .
Peskov suggested that when the time comes, a congratulations message from Putin would come with all the expected protocol.