Putin says Russia dealing with coronavirus better than US

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that his country has handled the coronavirus pandemic better than the U.S., saying partisanship has hampered the American response.

“We are working rather smoothly and emerging from this situation with the coronavirus confidently and, with minimal losses… But in the [United] States that is not happening,” Putin told state TV, according to Reuters.

Putin implied regional leaders were able to implement national policies because of their better relationships with federal officials.

“I can’t imagine someone in the [Russian] government or regions saying we are not going to do what the government or president say,” Putin said, according to the news service. “It seems to me that the problem (in the United States) is that group, in this case party interests, are put above those of society’s as a whole, above the interests of the people.”

Russia has 528,964 confirmed cases of the virus, the third-highest national number in the world after the U.S. and Brazil. The nation’s official death toll, however, is much lower than several major nations, including the U.S., at 6,948.

The accuracy of official statistics has come under scrutiny, particularly after Moscow officials in late May announced after conducting post-mortem examinations that the city’s death toll for April was in fact 1,561 deaths rather than the previously reported 639.

In the same interview on Sunday, Putin also denied a raft of reforms to Russia’s constitution were an attempt at “strengthening a presidential dictatorship,” according to Reuters, saying the changes would give parliament a larger role.

A nationwide voter referendum, which had been delayed due to the pandemic, is set to take place from June 25 to July 1. If voters approve the amendments, Putin would be eligible to serve an additional 12 years as president after his term expires in 2024.