Kremlin says people must judge for themselves if Putin really wants Kamala Harris to win

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked if President Vladimir Putin's stated support for U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris was serious or a joke, said on Friday that people would have to figure it out for themselves.

Putin told an interviewer on Thursday that he preferred Harris over Donald Trump, citing her "infectious" laugh as a reason why she might be less inclined to penalise Russia with sanctions.

He was smiling as he delivered the remark - one of several apparently teasing comments he has made in the course of the U.S. campaign.

Asked if Putin had been serious, Peskov told reporters: "When he is asked about international affairs, he comments on them. As for his tone, people abroad who are interested must try to interpret that."

The White House said on Thursday that Putin should stop commenting on the November election.

Peskov said Putin's priority was Russia's wellbeing, and "American affairs cannot be, and are not, a concern that is at the top of the president's agenda".

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, writing by Mark Trevelyan and Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Andrew Osborn)