Former US President Donald Trump has said that he was pleased with a recent praise he received by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. At the recent the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok held earlier this week, Putin expressed ‘happiness’ over Trump’s claims to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict within days.

“Well, this cannot but bring happiness. This is good,” said Putin at the forum while referring to Trump’s claims. However, he mentioned that any ‘radical’ change in the US-Russia hostilities are unlikely to change regardless of change in American presidency.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Trump said that he was pleased by Putin’s response. “I like that he said that. Because that means what I’m saying is right. I would get him into a room. I’d get Zelenskyy into a room. Then I’d bring them together. And I’d have a deal worked out,” he said further.

Trump again reiterated his claims of resolving the Ukraine war within 24 hours, however he did not provide much details on how he would proceed, even as he maintained that he would “make a fair deal for everybody”. 

“There was nobody tougher than me with Russia. And yet I got along with Putin. Let me tell you, I got along with him really well. And that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. He’s got 1,700 nuclear missiles. And so do we,” added the former President. Trump’s refusal to criticise Putin mark a stark contrast with most American allies who consider the Kremlin leader as a major antagonist.

Trump and the Russia-Ukraine conflict

When Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Trump had actually praised Putin’s style of power. “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” he said in a podcast at that time.

Trump also described Putin as a “guy who was very savvy”, while other Republican leaders pushed the Biden administration to take a stronger stance on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. 

Notably, Trump was accused of pressuring Ukraine to damage chances of his presidential rival Joe Biden by withholding $400 million in US aid to Ukraine – which led to his first impeachment in 2019.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination – vastly exceeding the chances of other candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump has been criticised by his competitors for de-emphasising the war as a national security interest, while DeSantis and Indian-American aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy have used his denunciations of the contributions made by American allies.

Putin’s remarks on Trump

At the EEF event in Vladivostok, Putin  criticised the “rotten” American political system and defended former US President Donald Trump, calling the criminal indictments against him as part of an “unfair political system”.

“As for the prosecution of Trump, for us what is happening in today’s conditions, in my opinion, is good because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy,” he said.

Notably, Trump faces four criminal indictments including charges related to efforts to remain in power by overturning election results after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, falsification of business records and mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Trump has so far pleaded not guilty to his alleged attempts of trying to reverse the results of the last elections.

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