White House mocks Putin's 2024 bid: 'Quite a race, won't it?'

John Kirby, the Coordinator of the White House National Security Council, commented sarcastically on the announcement by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin regarding his candidacy in the presidential elections of Russia, scheduled for March 2024.

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The issue came up during a White House briefing.

Journalists asked Kirby how he could comment on Putin's "re-election," to which he humorously implied the Russian elections would not be competitive.

"Well, this will be quite a race, won't it? That's all I can say about it," replied the representative of the U.S. president's administration.

Putin announced his participation in the 2024 Russian presidential elections on Dec. 8. This will be his fifth term as the Kremlin dictator.

Earlier, it was reported that the Russian militant Artem Zhoga had "asked" Putin to run for president during an awards ceremony in Moscow.

Read also: Putin's re-election ‘vote’ to last three days, Russian Central Election Commission says

In addition, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation has approved the dates for the elections, which will last for a record three days – from March 15 to 17, 2024.

Putin has held the position of president longer than any other Russian leader since the time of dictator Joseph Stalin, surpassing even Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year term: from 2000 to 2008, and then from 2012 to the present.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine