The decision by outgoing US President Joe Biden to pardon his son Hunter shows he is more of a human than a politician, Vladimir Putin has said, noting that he would not condemn the outgoing leader for this.

Putin made the remarks on Thursday during his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow, which was combined with a ‘Direct Line’ question-and-answer session.

It’s “such a subtle issue,” he replied, when asked to comment on Biden’s pardoning of his son, Hunter.

“He is a politician. And it is always important what is more in you – a politician or a human being. It turned out that Biden is more of a human being, I would not condemn him for this.”

Putin noted examples in Russian history, mentioning Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s eldest son Yakov, who died in 1943 in a German concentration camp for political prisoners after his father refused to exchange him for German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus.

Stalin allegedly said “I will not exchange a field marshal for a soldier.”

Things were different then, Putin emphasised. Surrender at that time was considered treason, since the country was “on the brink of total destruction.” It was about the survival of the entire nation, and the measures taken to fight for victory were “tough, if not brutal,” he said.

Hunter Biden was convicted in June of lying about his long-standing drug addiction when buying a handgun. In a separate case, he pleaded guilty in September to three felonies and six misdemeanor tax offenses, with the sentencing scheduled for this month.

Joe Biden pardoned his son on December 1, despite having repeatedly pledged not to, claiming that his son was prosecuted “selectively and unfairly” because of his familial ties.