Putin Defends Hunter Biden On Past Business Polemics, Signals To Support Joe Biden?

Russian President Vladimir Putin

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken about Hunter Biden's past business with Ukraine and Russia. According to him, there is no crime in the business relationship of the son of the candidate for President of the United States (US) Joe Biden. Hunter Biden is indeed a topic of conversation in the US because US President Donald Trump often discussed the alleged scandal between Hunter Biden and Ukraine.

As reported by Reuters, Monday, October 26, Putin used to praise Trump because he wanted better relations with Russia. Putin said Russia would work with any US leader willing to open cooperation with Russia.

But this time, it seems that Putin is starting to snarl at Trump. This can be seen from his remarks broadcast on Russian state TV yesterday, October 25. Putin appears to have defied Trump's criticism of Hunter Biden. According to analysts, it was Putin's attempt to curry favor with Joe Biden's camp.

"Yes, in Ukraine he (Hunter Biden) had or may still have a business, I don't know. That's not our business. This concerns America and Ukraine," Putin said.

"But yes he has at least one company, which he practically leads, and judges by everything he does well. I don't see anything criminal about this, at least we don't know anything about this (being criminal), "he added.

In addition, Putin also looked upset when asked about Trump's comments about Putin's relationship with the former Moscow mayor and the alleged payments made to Hunter Biden by the widow of the former Moscow mayor.

Putin said he knew nothing about the existence of a commercial relationship between Hunter and the woman. Meanwhile Joe Biden himself has said that the rumors are untrue.

US intelligence agencies previously concluded that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election to support Trump, which the Russian side denies. Russia has also dismissed accusations by US intelligence agencies that Russia is also meddling in the 2020 elections.

Accuse each other

At the time of the debate, Trump accused Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, of engaging in unethical practices in Ukraine. However, no verified evidence to support the allegations and Joe Biden called this statement false. Not only Ukraine, Trump also accused Biden of engaging in unethical practices with China.

"There is nothing unethical," said Joe Biden of Hunter Biden's role on the board of directors of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. "My son doesn't get money from China," said Biden.

Instead, Biden accused Trump of enjoying the benefits of China. "The only person who makes money from China is this man (Trump)," he said.

To quote USA Today, Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have pushed for conspiracy theories. Trump has accused Joe Biden of intervening in Ukraine to assist Hunter Biden's business activities.

Trump claims that Biden has demanded the overthrow of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin to thwart the investigation into Burisma. However, Biden actually encouraged Shokin's removal because he did not actively handle corruption cases.

There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Biden. And Trump's claims have been debunked by a team of fact-checking and investigators.