US election 2024: Putin says he prefers Joe Biden over Donald Trump in the White House

Mr Biden was the more experienced, predictable person, he said in remarks sure to raise eyebrows.

Before Mr Trump's first run for president in 2016, Mr Putin had praised him as "outstanding and talented".

Mr Biden has been a fierce critic of Mr Putin for years, calling him a "killer" before the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian president also remarked on his recent interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, saying he had found it disappointing because the questions had not been sharp enough.

Speaking to Russian TV in an on-camera interview on Wednesday, Mr Putin said Mr Biden's leadership would be better for Russia because he was a "more experienced person, he is predictable, he is a politician of the old formation".

He dismissed questions about Mr Biden's age and mental health, and said when they had last met in 2021, he had not noticed anything peculiar.

"Even then [three years ago] people were saying that he was incompetent, but I did not see anything of this sort," he said.

"Yes, he kept looking at his papers, but to be honest I kept doing the same. So there was nothing peculiar."

Mr Putin clarified that Russia would work with anyone who "gains the trust of the American public" and wins the presidency.

It wasn't all glowing feedback for Mr Biden, however: Mr Putin described the US president's condemnation of the war in Ukraine as "extremely harmful and erroneous".

In the lead-up to the 2016 US election, Mr Trump had suggested he and Mr Putin would "get along very well".

Mr Trump recently caused outrage when he said he would "encourage" Russia to attack any Nato member that failed to meet the US-led alliance's financial contribution target of 2% of their GDP.

In response, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg asked Mr Trump not to "undermine" the alliance's collective security guarantee.

-bbc