President Vladimir Putin was joking when he endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for the upcoming US presidential elections, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding the election outcome does not matter since Washington is under the control of the "deep state."

Putin claimed earlier this month while speaking to reporters in Vladivostok that while he favored US President Joe Biden, he would support Harris because she was endorsed by Biden when he withdrew his presidential bid in July.

Harris “laughs so infectiously” indicating that “everything is going well for her,” he added.

The White House rebuked the Russian leader's endorsement, demanding he “stop talking about our elections.”

Putin “has a good sense of humor” and “often resorts to jokes during his speeches and interviews,” Lavrov told Sky News Arabia earlier this week.

'Deep state' is operating in the US: Lavrov

The top diplomat highlighted that Russia does not "see any difference" between Harris, her Republican counterpart Donald Trump, or any other US politician “because the notorious ‘deep state’ is operating” in the US. 

"Deep state" describes the unelected and unknown government bureaucrats that shape and influence government policy, especially leaders in intelligence agencies and the military, not to mention influential lobbies.

Former US president Trump criticized the deep state during his time in office, accusing its members of hindering his efforts to withdraw from Afghanistan and Syria, as well as claiming they were behind "Russiagate" claims meant to damage his reputation and strain relations between Washington and Moscow.

Putin told US journalist Tucker Carlson in February that US policy is “not about the personality of the leader, it is about the elites’ mindset," emphasizing that these unknown government bureaucrats are the real center of power governing Washington.

“I have no illusions about the US leader,” Lavrov told Sky News Arabia, speaking about Trump. However, he highlighted that despite the friendly relationship he and Putin held with the former president, sanctions against Russia were “introduced regularly, consistently and quite seriously” under his administration.

The foreign minister added that the US maintained its foreign policy even though Biden is “in such a physical condition that he has not been able to lead the country for a long time." 

“It continues the military campaign through the Ukrainian regime, and in other parts of the world continues to block any resolutions at the UN Security Council that demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank," he said.

“The ‘machine’ is working,” Lavrov stated, “and it is charged with never having a competitor who will threaten American dominance.”

Lavrov concluded that Russia must rely on itself given the United States' deep state, asserting "We will never again in our history rely on the fact that a ‘good uncle’ will come to the White House or another Western capital and everything will be fine for us."

US dominance effort doomed as nations pursue independent paths: Lavrov

Earlier in June, Lavrov said that Washington's efforts to sustain its global dominance through political maneuvers are destined to fail, given the increasing number of countries opting for autonomous foreign policies.

"There is no doubt that this course of maintaining hegemony at all costs is doomed to failure. Even if in the foreseeable future the US remains one of the world's centers, and this is likely to be the case, it does not mean that this will happen within the framework of preserving the US-centered world order," Lavrov said at the Primakov Readings forum in Moscow.

The top diplomat also noted that a growing number of countries in Eurasia, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are increasingly pursuing independent foreign policy paths, which cannot be overlooked. He added that these countries are gradually freeing themselves from Western influence.

"The outline of a more equitable, multipolar, and polycentric architecture is taking shape before our eyes. And this objective process has accelerated, noticeably accelerated with the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in 2022," Lavrov said.