Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed in an interview broadcast on Wednesday which US presidential candidate he thinks would be better for Russia.
Putin was asked by interviewer Pavel Zarubin who was "better for us" out of Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican.
Putin replied without hesitation: "Biden. He is a more experienced, predictable person, a politician of the old school."
Smiling slightly, he added: "But we will work with any US president who the American people have confidence in."
It was the first time Putin had publicly commented on the.
At a time of high political uncertainty in the US, and with relations between the two countries at their lowest point for more than 60 years, his comments were more likely to be perceived as mischief-making than taken at face value.
Biden has led the Western response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including the expansion of the NATO alliance, the imposition of successive waves of sanctions on Moscow and the provision of billions of dollars' worth of aid and weapons to Kyiv.
Based on Trump's reluctance to criticise Putin in his first term and his more recent comments - including a weekend interview where - his many critics believe he would give the Kremlin leader a much easier ride.
Putin even discussed, despite saying it would be wrong to interfere in the campaign.
"When I met with Biden in Switzerland — true, that was several years, three years ago — people were already saying he wasn't up to it. I didn't see anything of the kind," Putin said.
While appearing to defend Biden, he brought up an episode that embarrassed the US leader, when he banged his head while getting out of a helicopter in June last year.
"Well, which of us hasn't banged his head somewhere?" Putin said.
Putin has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, but . He is certain to win a new six-year term in an election next month, from which two candidates who opposed the war in Ukraine have been disqualified for presenting invalid documentation.
In 2020, a report by the US Senate intelligence committee found , who defeated Hillary Clinton.
