Putin respects US once again – Trump
US President Donald Trump has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has regained respect for America, whose international standing was damaged by the previous administration.
Trump was responding to comments made by Putin during a visit to Belarus on Friday, where the Russian leader described the US president as a “courageous man.”
“Vladimir Putin made some very nice statements today,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that these remarks would have been impossible under former President Joe Biden.
“He respects our country again. He didn’t respect it a year ago, I can tell you that,” Trump said, claiming that Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also respect the US since his return to the White House.
“We had a president that was incompetent. We had bad people circulating around this desk – this beautiful, Resolute desk. They had, I guess, evil intentions,” Trump said.
He has repeatedly described his predecessor’s foreign policy as weak and damaging to America’s global reputation, arguing that the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza would not have erupted under his leadership.
Speaking to reporters in Minsk, Putin said he holds “deep respect” for Trump and praised him for overcoming numerous challenges, including surviving an assassination attempt last year. He added that he believes Trump is “sincerely seeking” to help broker an end to the Ukraine conflict.
Trump has revived direct contact with Moscow, which was cut off during the Biden administration, and has held five phone calls with Putin since returning to office in January.
