An American woman who accused Joe Biden during the 2020 election campaign of sexually assaulting her in 1993 asked President Vladimir Putin for Russian citizenship during an interview in Moscow on Tuesday.

Tara Reid, 59, appeared in a video interview with Sputnik News Agency alongside Russian MP Maria Butina, who was imprisoned in the United States for attempting to penetrate political circles.

Reed said she arrived in Moscow as a tourist but felt "safe for the first time in a very long time". She explained that she decided to settle in Russia when a Republican deputy told her that her life was in danger.

"I want to apply to President Vladimir Putin for Russian citizenship," she said, promising to be a "good citizen".

And in early 2020, Reid accused then-presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in a corridor of the US Congress in 1993, when he was a senator and she was an assistant to him.

The accusation, which the Democrat emphatically denied, was nonetheless embarrassing because of his campaign against outgoing President Donald Trump, who has been accused by several women of sexual assault, harassment or rape.

But inconsistencies marred Reed's statements. For example, no trace of the complaint she claimed to have filed with Congress after the fact was found.

The American, who introduces herself as a specialist in geopolitics, confirmed on Tuesday that she had received death threats after announcing her accusations in 2020.