UPDATE - Kremlin says Biden’s withdrawal from US presidential race ‘not surprising’

UPDATES WITH FURTHER REMARKS BY KREMLIN SPOKESMAN; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Monday said incumbent US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the ongoing US presidential race was “not surprising.”

On Sunday, Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and his endorsement of his vice president, Kamala Harris, to become the Democratic presidential nominee.

“Honestly, the last few years of what has been happening in the US has taught us not to be surprised by anything. Therefore, we were not very surprised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a press briefing.

Expressing that the Kremlin is closely monitoring developments both in the US and in all major countries of the world, Peskov said Moscow does not expect any positive steps from the current US administration toward Russia prior to the end of Biden's term in office.

He further defined the future of Russia-US relations as very important for Moscow, arguing that Washington is going through the “worst period in history.”

Commenting on Biden’s nomination of Harris, Peskov said Russia cannot evaluate her potential candidacy from the point of view of bilateral relations, because “so far, no contribution of her to our relations has been noticed.”