Putin's late congratulations on Biden's win signal future frosty ties

MOSCOW • Russia's President Vladimir Putin has finally congratulated Mr Joe Biden on having won the US presidential election - more than a month after the Democrat became the President-elect.

Mr Putin's long delay in offering congratulations, while President Donald Trump has refused to accept the election results, was widely viewed as a prelude to a frosty relationship between the Kremlin and Mr Biden's White House.

On Tuesday, after the Electoral College confirmed Mr Biden's victory, the Kremlin ended its wait and announced that Mr Putin had sent the former vice-president a "congratulatory telegram" marking his "victory in the United States presidential election".

"Vladimir Putin wished the President-elect every success and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which bear special responsibility for global security and stability, can, despite their differences, effectively contribute to solving many problems and meeting challenges that the world is facing today," the Kremlin's statement said.

Mr Putin was not alone in withholding good wishes, with some of Mr Trump's closest allies overseas taking a wait-and-see approach. These included Poland's right-wing government, with President Andrzej Duda waiting until this week to offer his congratulations.

"After the election of the Electoral College, I would like to congratulate you on the successful election result and wish you a successful term of office," Mr Duda said in a statement. "Relations between Poland and the USA are a pillar of security, European and trans-Atlantic stability."

Two Latin American leaders also offered congratulations to Mr Biden for the first time.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, said in a tweet that he "will be ready to work with the new government". President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico sent a two-page letter to Mr Biden that noted "your stance in favour of migrants from Mexico and the rest of the world".

The delay in recognising Mr Biden as President-elect also allowed Russian state media to underline, for its domestic audience, what it cast as the chaotic and illegitimate nature of American democracy.

But the Kremlin also recognises that it will need to work with Mr Biden - not least on nuclear arms control, with a major treaty limiting US and Russian nuclear warhead numbers expiring on Feb 5.

Both Mr Biden and Mr Putin have signalled that they would like to extend the treaty, but they will not be able to make it official until after Mr Biden is inaugurated on Jan 20.

BLOOMBERG