Vladimir Putin Has Finally Congratulated Joe Biden On Winning US Election

Vladimir Putin finally congratulated Joe Biden for winning the US Election.

The Russian President wanted to wait for all the official processes to be made before reaching across the Pacific Ocean to say 'well done', despite most world leaders doing it straight after November 3.

However, now that the Electoral College has voted for the Democratic candidate to win the 2020 ballot, Putin has followed suit.

A spokesperson for the Russian President added: "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 President of Russia noted that with this in mind, Russian-American cooperation, based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, would meet the interests of both nations and the entire international community."

Putin had previously said it was premature to offer a congratulations because the election process hadn't been fully completed.

"We will work with anyone who has the confidence of the American people," Putin said back in late November.

"But that confidence can only be given to a candidate whose victory has been recognised by the opposing party, or after the results are confirmed in a legitimate, legal way."

That statement was in keeping with a similar sentiment that was issued one week after the November 3 vote.

"We think it appropriate to wait for the official vote count," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time.

But the Electoral College met on Monday (December 14) to cast their votes for the election and it came back with 306 electoral votes, which is far more than what is needed to take over the White House.

Congress will meet on 6 January to formally count the ballots from the electoral college, before the President-elect is sworn into office on 20 January.

The electoral college is a term used to describe the official 538 Presidential electors, who provide their official votes for President and Vice President during the country's presidential elections, which take place every four years.

Each state has a different number of electors, depending on how many representatives it has and in addition to its two senators - although no state can have fewer than three electors.

The electors usually vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state; however in some states the vote is based on the popular vote in each congressional district. It is possible for electors to vote against the popular vote (dubbed 'faithless electors') but in some states this can result in a fine.