Kremlin weighs in on potential Harris candidacy
Moscow cannot predict what Kamala Harris’ approach to Russia will be if she is nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate in the US presidential election, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said. Harris has not played any meaningful role in bilateral relations as US vice president, except for a few “unfriendly” remarks, he added.
US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he will not seek reelection in the November 5 vote. The 81-year-old had faced increasing pressure from within the Democratic Party to step aside in the wake of his disastrous performance during last month’s debate against Republican rival Donald Trump.
Shortly after making his decision public, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris as the Democratic Party nominee.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Peskov said: “At the moment, we cannot evaluate the potential candidacy of Ms. Harris in terms of our bilateral relations, for any contribution on her part has not been noticed so far.”
Statements Harris has made on Russia to date “have been full of rather unfriendly rhetoric toward our country,” Peskov added. “We haven’t registered any other actions by her, whether positive or negative, regarding our bilateral relations.”
According to Peskov, Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race “cannot be a priority topic on our agenda” as it is not an internal Russian matter.
“It’s not for us to evaluate decisions made by the [US] president and candidates,” the Kremlin representative told journalists.
The recent developments “should preoccupy US voters,” Peskov said.
When asked whether the Russian leadership was surprised by Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, Peskov replied: “Frankly speaking, what has been happening in the US in recent years has taught us not to be surprised by anything.”
Moscow was “not surprised a lot,” he clarified, adding that Russia is closely following the way the presidential race in the US is unfolding. Peskov noted that the Kremlin does the same with respect to “all other major countries of the world.”
Peskov previously made clear that Moscow has other priorities, rather than waiting for the outcome of the US presidential election.
“For us, reaching the goals of the special military operation [against Ukraine] is a priority,” he told the Russian news outlet Life late on Sunday.
He reiterated the assessment made earlier this year by President Vladimir Putin, who suggested he would have preferred the “more predictable” Biden to come out on top.
Peskov pointed out that there are still four months to go before the US presidential vote, describing it as “a long period, over which many things can change.”
