'I am ready': Putin finally reaches out to US President elect Joe Biden
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election after Biden won the state-by-state electoral college vote that officially determines the US presidency, the Kremlin says.
The Kremlin had said it would wait for the official results of the election before commenting on its outcome, even as other nations congratulated Biden on the win in the days after the November 3 vote.
"For my part, I am ready for interaction and contact with you," the Kremlin cited Putin as saying in a statement on Tuesday.
The Kremlin added Putin “wished the president-elect every success and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which have a special responsibility for global security and stability, could, despite their differences, really help to solve the many problems and challenges facing the world”.
The Electoral College gave Biden a majority of its votes when it convened on Monday (local time), confirming his victory in last month’s election in state-by-state voting in a process that took on added importance this year because of Donald Trump’s refusal to concede defeat.
Heightened security was in place in some states as electors met on the day mandated by federal law to officially lodge the election result.
There was little suspense and no surprises as all the electoral votes allocated to Biden and Trump in last month’s popular vote went to each man.
Trump backer calls it quits
Attorney General William Barr, one of Trump’s staunchest allies, also tended his resignation.
The Trump administration is well known for its high turnover of staff (the president had five press secretaries in four years) but the exit of Bill Barr is one of the most notable during his tumultuous tenure.
Trump was unusually amicable, tweeting: “Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!”
Barr, however, has reportedly been less flattering of the president’s behaviour, sources told CNN.
Trump has publicly toyed with the idea of firing Barr for contradicting his election claims and expressed anger that he did not make an investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes public, despite department policy against such a pronouncement.
with AAP
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