Vladimir Putin believes the Democratic Party’s ‘social democratic ideals’ are similar to those that led to the rise of Communism, and that Russia could form an ‘ideological basis’ of a working relationship if Joe Biden wins the November 3 election.
In an interview with state-run Russian media, Putin said he would be willing to work with whoever won the election.
Putin lamented the anti-Russian sentiment that has become popular within Democratic Party circles.
‘As for the Democratic candidate, what can I say? We can hear rather sharp anti-Russian rhetoric, as well,’ the Russian leader told Rossiya TV.
‘Regrettably, we have become used to this.’
Putin added: ‘But… the Democratic Party is traditionally closer to the so-called liberal values, closer to social democratic ideas, if compared to Europe.
‘And it was from the social democratic environment that the Communist Party evolved.’
Russian President Vladimir Putin (above) said that he would work with whoever won the November 3 election
Putin has denied allegations that Russia has meddled in the American election. Trump is seen left debating his opponent, Joe Biden, in Cleveland on September 29
Before entering politics, Putin rose through the ranks of the KGB under the Soviet Union, which was controlled by the Communist Party.
In post-Soviet Russia, Putin has firmly solidified his rule over the country.
‘I still like many of these left-wing values,’ the Russian leader said.
‘Equality and fraternity. What is bad about them? In fact, they are akin to Christian values.
‘Yes, they are difficult to implement, but they are very attractive, nevertheless.’
He then added: ‘In other words, this can be seen as an ideological basis for developing contacts with the Democratic representative.’
The Russian president, who is on record as stating that he was pleased President Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, has denied accusations from Democrats that he interfered in that hotly contested race.
Allegations of Russian meddling led to a two-year investigation by Robert Mueller, who was appointed special counsel after the president fired then-FBI Director James Comey.
Comey’s bureau at the time was probing possible links between the Trump campaign and alleged members of Russian intelligence services.
Mueller’s investigation ended without any indictments against Americans for colluding with Russia, an allegation that Trump and his campaign has long denied.
Putin said that while he credits Trump with trying to improve relations early in his presidency, his administration has taken provocative steps like imposing sanctions and pulling out of an arms control treaty. Trump is seen far right with Putin and First Lady Melania Trump in Helsinki in July 2018
Throughout his presidency, Trump has alarmed critics by refusing to endorse his own intelligence agency’s assertion that Putin ordered Russian spies to launch a disinformation campaign to help tilt the election in 2016.
Trump’s reluctance to criticize Putin and his statement praising the Russian leader, who is regarded as an autocrat and serial violator of human rights, has prompted Democrats to label the president as a ‘puppet’ of the Kremlin.
In his interview with Rossiya TV, Putin denied that Russia interfered in the American elections.
‘We are the onlookers; we do not interfere in the process,’ the Russian leader said.
‘Everything that is happening in the United States is the result of the country’s internal political processes and problems.’
Putin said he was flattered when Biden referred to Trump as ‘Putin’s puppy.’
While the former vice president sought to ‘humiliate or insult’ him, Putin said that the remark ‘enhances our prestige.’
Putin said that while Trump expressed a desire early in his first term to improve American relations with Russia, in practice he has done the opposite, including taking the ‘very drastic step’ of withdrawing from a nuclear proliferation treaty.
In February of last year, Trump announced that he would remove the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, an arms control accord signed by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in December 1987.
The deal prohibited the US and Russia from fielding ground-launched cruise missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,400 miles.
Putin did credit Trump with helping to grow the bilateral trade between the two countries during his presidency.
He said that the US and Russia have also worked to stabilize world oil markets.
‘Therefore, I would like to repeat what I have said more than once before,’ Putin said.
‘We will work with any future president of the United State[s], the one whom the American people give their vote of confidence.’
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