Russia's Putin, with 530,000 COVID-19 cases, says "We responded better than the US"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the Russian government's response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). President Putin claimed that Russia's response was superior to that of the United States.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 14th (local time), President Putin said in a video conference, "Russia is getting through the COVID-19 situation relatively smoothly, with minimal casualties," adding, "This was not the case in the United States."

According to data compiled by the international statistics site Worldometer, Russia has recorded a total of 528,964 confirmed COVID-19 cases, ranking third highest in the world. The United States has recorded 2,162,144 cases. Despite the large number of confirmed cases in Russia, the total number of deaths is 6,948, which is significantly lower than the U.S. death toll of 117,853. However, there is controversy regarding the reliability of Russia's death count.

Putin attributed Russia's better response compared to the U.S. to the political system. Unlike the U.S., the federal and local governments in Russia worked together as one team without disagreements, which was helpful.

President Putin stated, "In Russia, it is unthinkable for federal or local government officials to tell different stories from the president or the Russian government," and added, "In the United States, it seems that partisan interests are valued more highly than the interests of society as a whole or the people."

Regarding the constitutional amendment vote scheduled from the 25th of this month to the 1st of next month, President Putin directly denied public claims that the amendment would strengthen presidential dictatorship. He said, "The amendment will give the parliament greater authority."

However, the international community views this differently. If the amendment passes, President Putin will be exempt from the three-term limit rule and will be able to run in the 2024 presidential election. Under the current constitution, President Putin, having been re-elected, was not allowed to run in the next election. Thanks to the amendment, President Putin will have the opportunity to serve an additional 12 years as president, until 2036, after completing his current term.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.