Putin has 'no plans' to congratulate Donald Trump and the US remains an 'unfriendly state', Kremlin says

Vladimir Putin has no immediate plans to congratulate Donald Trump on his election victory, according to the Kremlin, as it continues to view the United States as being 'unfriendly' towards Russia.

The dictator's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said relations between the two countries were at a historic low, and that it was practically impossible for them to get any worse.

Moscow is watching events closely and analysing statements made by American politicians about Russia, he said, urging people not to forget that the US is 'directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.'

Peskov said the US was capable of changing the trajectory of its foreign policy, but 'we'll see in January', when Trump takes office, if that happens.

Meanwhile Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to congratulate Trump, saying on X that his 'peace through strength' approach could help to bring 'just peace' closer as the war against Russia drags on. 

The statement is widely being seen as a shrewd political move by Zelensky, as he aims to shore up US support and aid to Ukraine. 

'We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States,' he wrote in a pointed line.

He recalled the 'great meeting' he had with Trump in September, despite the very public tensions between the two politicians at the time.

Standing next to Zelensky, Trump had touted his working relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Trump boasted during his campaign that he could 'end the war' in 24 hours if elected, insinuating that he could pull US funding and force Ukraine to negotiate with Russia.

He labelled Zelensky 'the greatest salesman in history' back in June, and his running mate JD Vance has been a fierce critic of giving Ukraine more aid.

While Democrat candidate Kamala Harris has taken a hard line against Russia during her term as Vice President, Trump is known to admire Putin.

The influential head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund said as the results emerged today that Trump's victory opened up new opportunities to reset relations between Moscow and Washington.

Kirill Dmitriev, who has had contacts with the Trump team in the past, claimed that the Trump victory 'shows that ordinary Americans are tired of the unprecedented lies, incompetence, and malice of the Biden administration.'

Putin not speaking out on the result will not come as a surprise - the Russian leader rarely comments on elections in the US, and has previously vowed to 'work with any US leader'. 

But he blasted America's judicial and political systems back in July following Trump's felony conviction, saying it was being used by the former president's enemies to damage his chances of re-election.

'They [the US] are burning themselves from the inside, their state, their political system,' he said.

It has been widely suggested that Trump could be a more favourable choice for Putin as he is more likely to reduce the flow of Western munitions to Kyiv.

Timothy Colton of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies said that the Kremlin leadership is 'by and large convinced nothing good is going to come in the election from Russia's point of view.'

But he added that on the whole, Trump 'is probably their preference; he's more of a known quantity.'

Putin caught listeners off-guard in September when he gave a teasing reply to the question of who he would prefer as president, which also included a jab at Joe Biden.

'Our 'favorite,' if you can call it that, was the current president, Mr Biden,' he told the audience at an economic forum in the Far East port of Vladivostok.

'But he was removed from the race, and he recommended all his supporters to support Ms Harris. 

'Well, we will do so — we will support her,' he said sardonically, citing her 'expressive and infectious laugh' that shows 'she's doing well.'