Putin, with a wry smile, says Russia backs Kamala Harris in US election

Vladivostok: Russia wants Kamala Harris to win the US presidential election, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday in an apparently ironic comment, citing her "infectious" laugh as a reason to prefer her over Donald Trump.

Putin was speaking a day after the US Justice Department charged two Russian media executives over an alleged illegal scheme to influence the November election with pro-Russian propaganda.

The Kremlin leader had said earlier this year, before President Joe Biden withdrew from the race - also with apparent irony - that he preferred him over Trump because Biden was a more predictable "old school" politician.

Asked how he viewed the election now, Putin told an economic forum in Russia's far east that it was the choice of the American people.

But he then added that as Biden had recommended his supporters to back Harris, "we will do the same, we will support her".

"She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that everything is fine with her," Putin said, adding that maybe this meant she would refrain from further sanctions against Russia.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russia wants Trump to win because he is less committed to supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia.

But Putin said Trump, as president, had introduced more sanctions against Russia than anyone in the White House before him.