Putin praises Donald Trump as ‘very talented’

The Russian president described Trump as the “absolute leader of the Presidential race” during a three-hour televised news conference. “But he is absolutely the leader in the presidential race”.

Other Republicans, including rival Jeb Bush, mocked the exchange. Republicans have frequently taken to bashing Putin and have used his rocky relationship with Democratic President Barack Obama as evidence that the administration lacks strength in global affairs. “But it doesn’t mean regular Russian troops are there – be aware of the difference”, Mr Putin said, in comments that recalled the way he dismissed, and later confirmed, that Russian forces annexed Crimea past year. In recent months, the two countries have split on how to fight Islamic State in Syria.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian Federation wanted to develop relations with the United States, irrespective of who will become the next American president.

After the press conference, Mr Putin regaled Russian media with praise for Donald Trump, calling him an “outstanding, unquestionably talented man”.

“Whoever it is, we are ready and want to develop our relations with the United States”, he said, adding that unlike the USA, which “always tries to tell us… who to elect and who not to elect”, Russian Federation doesn’t do any such thing.

Denouncing Turkey’s behaviour as “an act of enmity”, Mr Putin declared: “It’s hard, or practically impossible, for us to reach agreement with Turkey’s current leadership”. “Of course we welcome it”, Putin told reporters. “How can we not welcome that?”

“It is always a great honour to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond”, Trump said in a statement.

Trump’s response was a far cry from the stance of another Republican candidate, former business executive Carly Fiorina. On Twitter on Thursday, the former Florida governor dubbed Trump “Hillary 2.0”. I wonder if Trump will change his tune once he finds out? “I would talk to him”, Trump said.

“I suppose (Putin) sympathizes with Trump without knowing him well in person, but he is following him closely, what he does and says, just because he is not a kind of usual Western politician”, said Alexander Baunov, an analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.