Vladimir Putin has “no plans” to call Donald Trump after the former US president survived an assassination attempt, according to the Kremlin.
Trump was targeted during a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday and left with a bloodied ear after a bullet narrowly missed his skull.
The attacker, whose motive is yet to be identified, was quickly shot dead by the authorities.
Trump has since been contacted by leaders around the world, including his election opponent the current US president Joe Biden, UK PM Sir Keir Starmer and King Charles – but the Russian president will not be following suit.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Sunday that “as far as I know, no, there are no such plans” for Putin to call Trump.
According to the Russian state-owned news agency Tass, Peskov also told reporters that it was “obvious to all outside observers” that Trump’s life “was in jeopardy” after “numerous attempts to remove candidate Trump from the political arena”.
He was referring to the criminal cases against the former president.
The Kremlin then said it did not believe the White House was responsible for the attack, but baselessly accused the Biden administration of causing an atmosphere to provoke such an attack.
Peskov said: “We do not believe that the attempt to eliminate and assassinate Trump was organised by the current authorities. But the atmosphere around candidate Trump...provoked what America is confronting today.”
He added: “Russia has always condemned and we strongly condemn any expressions of violence during political struggle.”
Peskov refused to say whether he thought the attempt on Trump’s life would impact the legitimacy of the 2024 US presidential election, telling reporters: “We are not to judge.
“We do not desire in the remotest to meddle in it, this being the US’s internal matter.”
Putin has previously said the US election will not change anything in the US-Russia relationship, which is strained by the States’ ongoing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
He also raised eyebrows by suggesting he would prefer Biden to stay in the White House over Trump because he is a more “experienced” politician – even though Biden has called Putin a “killer”.
However, Putin has shown an interest in Trump’s claims he could end the Ukraine war.
Trump, on the other hand, has shown much more enthusiasm for Putin.
The former US president has regularly alleged that he has a special bond with the Russian authoritarian leader.
Trump once said Putin would free the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich just for him, claiming: “Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!”