THE Russian President Vladimir Putin he was joking when he said that Moscow supports Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris in the November US presidential election, the Secretary of State said today Sergey Lavrovduring an interview he gave to Sky News Arabia.

Earlier this month, Putin said Russia would like Harris to win the election in a playful comment, according to Reuters, in which he cited her “infectious” laugh as a reason he favors her over the Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. The Russian president’s statement drew a response from the White House, which said Putin should stop commenting on the Nov. 5 election.

“It was a joke,” Lavrov said when asked how much the change in the US presidency would affect Russia’s foreign policy. “President Putin has a good sense of humor. He often jokes during his statements and interviews.”

“I don’t see any long-term differences in our attitude towards the current or previous elections in the US, because they are ruled by the infamous ‘deep state,'” Lavrov pointed out, without presenting evidence for this claim.

The comments of the head of Russian diplomacy were published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday.