U.S. Says Ready to 'Deal With' Putin Despite 'Unfair' Election

The United States said Monday that it recognizes President Vladimir Putin as the leader of Russia and is prepared to deal with him for another six years, while also emphasizing the March 15-17 presidential election was neither free nor fair. “Nothing about the election outcome was unpredictable because Putin had closed the political space, had locked up political opponents. Some of his political opponents had tragically died,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing.