As the presidential election draws near in the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he supported Kamala Harris.
Putin spoke during a question and answer session at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
“Firstly, (US President Joe) Biden recommended all his supporters to support Mrs Harris. Here, we are going to do that too; we’re going to support her,” he added, with a wry smile.
Putin added, “(Former US President Donald) Trump has imposed as many sanctions on Russia as any president has ever imposed before, and if Harris is doing well, perhaps she will refrain from such actions.”
In February, Putin backed Biden over Trump, calling the current president more “predictable”.
The White House called on Putin to “stay out” of US elections.
Putin’s comments come a day after the United States indicted two employees of state-run Russian news network RT and slapped sanctions on its top editors.
Washington accused them of trying to influence the upcoming US ballot.