Putin ought to stop talking about elections – White House

John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, has criticised Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's public discussions about "supporting" certain candidates during a briefing in Washington and advised against interfering in the US election.

Kirby responded during a conversation with journalists to a request to comment on Putin's words that he "favoured" Vice President Kamala Harris in the election race.

Kirby stressed that the Kremlin leader "ought to stop talking about our elections, period".

"He shouldn’t be favouring anybody one way or another.  The only people who should get to determine who the next president of the United States is is the American people," he said.

John Kirby also added that the US would "greatly appreciate" if Putin would "A, stop talking about our election and, B, stop interfering in it."

US intelligence has previously reported that foreign rivals of the United States will try to influence the November 2024 presidential election by adapting their operations to domestic political events in the country.

The US Department of Treasury announced sanctions against the management of a Russian propaganda channel, RT, and related companies for interfering with the 2024 US presidential elections.

The US Department of Justice has also charged two employees of this propaganda channel with violating foreign agent requirements and money laundering.

On 4 September, the US State Department announced steps to be taken in response to Russia's attempt to interfere in the presidential election, targeting Russian propagandists.