Putin says ‘talented’ Trump is ‘absolute front-runner,’ welcomes pledge to

“He is a very bright and talented man, no doubt about that”, said Putin, speaking after his annual press conference in Moscow on Thursday.

Russian Federation has sent more warplanes to a base in Syria and deployed long-range S-400 air defense missile systems there, he added, putting an end to what he called regular incursions by Turkish jets in Syrian airspace. Putin noted that Trump was the “absolute front-runner we see today in the presidential race”.

In addition, Putin seemingly shaded President Obama for trying to meddle in Russian politics.

He hailed Donald Trump as the “absolute leader” in the U.S. presidential contest, praising the candidate’s talk about building a deeper relationship with Russian Federation.

The Russian leader said Moscow would be “ready to work with any president chosen by the American people”. “And I don’t think you’d be having the kind of problems that you’re having right now”.

“If Putin wants to go and knock the hell out of ISIS, I am all for it, 100 percent, and I can’t understand how anybody would be against it”, he said during a Republican presidential debate.

“We support an initiative by the United States including on the preparation of a UN Security Council resolution on Syria”, Putin told an annual news conference, adding he had discussed the draft resolution with US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week. Responding to a question about how the USA should confront Moscow’s support for the Assad government in Syria, Trump said “I would get along with Putin”.

Putin himself is not opposed to being blunt or vulgar to make a point, at one point vowing to wipe out Chechen rebels even if they had to be shot “in the outhouse”, and another time suggesting a reporter who questioned his Chechen policy should get circumcised.

But Putin says no matter who wins next year’s election, Russia, is also eager to develop better relations. “I believe – and I may be wrong, in which case I’d probably have to take a different path – but I would get along with a lot of the world leaders that this country is not getting along with”.

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Trump has embraced a far less aggressive approach to Putin than most of his rivals in the GOP primary.

Putin made his comments when asked about major infrastructure projects to which Russian Federation is now committed.

“We will not want Georgia to backslide into anti-Russian hysteria again”, the lawmaker said. Maybe let Russian Federation do it. Let them get rid of ISIS.