Russia’s Putin Joins China’s President in Staying Silent on Joe Biden’s Win

MOSCOW—Russian state media voiced support for President Trump’s view that the Nov. 3 presidential vote was marred with irregularities, as Russian President Vladimir Putin joined Chinese, Brazilian and a handful of other world leaders who have remained silent following Joe Biden’s victory in last week’s election.

Leading pro-Kremlin broadcasters appeared to follow Mr. Trump’s lead in questioning the conduct of the vote and in at least one instance criticized the way U.S. broadcast networks cut away from him as he made unfounded allegations that the election had been stolen. Some Russian politicians, meanwhile, predicted that a Biden presidency would further sour relations between Moscow and Washington.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told reporters Sunday that as vice president, Mr. Biden had worked with President Obama to launch what Mr. Slutsky called “a new containment of Russia.” Mr. Biden frequently criticized Russia’s foreign policy and strongly supported sanctioning Moscow for annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, when U.S.-Russia relations slumped to a post-Cold War low.

Mr. Putin, though, has so far held his silence on the election, as have Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s presidential spokesman, suggested it was good practice to remain quiet for now. Mr. Trump’s campaign has filed lawsuits contesting the vote-counting process in several states, though it was unclear whether any, if successful, would change election results in any meaningful way.