Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump "through acquaintances" rather than an official phone call.
Trump has also received unofficial congratulations from other high-ranking figures from Moscow, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Sberbank Chairman German Gref and Speakers of both Houses of Parliament Valentina Matvienko and Vyacheslav Volodin , the Russian independent publication "Verstka" reported, citing sources from the Kremlin who wished to remain anonymous.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that he was not aware that Putin had planned to greet Trump because the United States is an enemy state "engaged in a war against Russia."
Trump beat Democratic Kamala Harris. The outcome of the election is expected to have a major impact on Russia's war in Ukraine. Some fear that Trump may try to cut a deal with Putin at the cost of painful concessions from Kiev.
The US president-elect has often boasted of his close relationship with Putin and mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the "biggest trader on earth" for receiving US military aid.
Putin claimed he was indifferent to the outcome of the vote and once even said he would have preferred Harris as president. US intelligence has accused Russia of large-scale interference in the 2016 election, which was intended to support Trump against Hillary Clinton.
Russian officials have mixed reactions to Trump's victory. While some of them are cautiously optimistic about the eventual reduction of support for Ukraine, others believe that Washington's foreign policy will not fundamentally change.
"The hopes are mostly related to the reduction of aid to Ukraine during the (war)," said the Verstka source, who believes Trump is a much better option for Russia than Harris. | BGNES
