Exposed to swear words, Putin says it shows why Biden is Moscow's 'more preferable' US leader

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday responded to remarks by his US counterpart Joe Biden, who called him a "crazy SOB" a day earlier, saying the comment showed why he is a "more preferable" American leader for Moscow.

"I said that we will work with any president, but I believe that for us, for Russia, Biden is more preferable. And judging by what he just said, I am absolutely right, because this is an adequate reaction to what was said on my part," Putin told a Russian journalist in response to a question on the matter.

Putin said that, conversely, he has not been as helpful to Biden, who he said could not tell him, "Volodya, well done, thank you, you've helped me a lot."

"We understand what is happening there from an internal political point of view, and this reaction is absolutely adequate, which means I was right," he added.

Putin's comments came after Biden called Putin "a crazy SOB" on Wednesday at a fundraising event in California for his reelection campaign.

"This is the last existential threat, it is climate. We have a crazy SOB like that guy Putin, and others, and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is climate," Biden said while speaking at the gathering in San Francisco.

The statement received criticism from high-ranking Russian officials, including Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who called Biden's remarks a "huge shame" to America and his behavior "in the style of a Hollywood cowboy for the sake of domestic political interests."