Russia’s Lavrov criticizes US election campaign

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the ongoing US election campaign as a "pitiful sight".

Responding to a question from VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin, Lavrov stated that "seriously speaking, of course, it’s a pitiful sight, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

And if the system of so-called American democracy produces such results or such a course of the election campaign, everyone could draw their own conclusions about how it’s all orchestrated, how it’s arranged."

Lavrov’s comments followed the first televised debate between incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27. During the debate, both candidates were prohibited from using speech points. A CNN flash poll indicated that two-thirds of viewers believed Trump won the debate. The Wall Street Journal reported that Biden’s perceived poor performance caused panic among Democrats in Congress, with some members considering alternative Democratic presidential candidates.

The US presidential elections are scheduled for November 5. Trump has secured enough delegates’ votes to be nominated as the Republican candidate, while Biden has garnered sufficient Democratic votes for his re-election bid. Both candidacies will be officially confirmed by their respective parties later this summer.