Moscow – Russian leader Vladimir Putin praised US president-elect Donald Trump as a “smart man” in an interview with Russian broadcaster NTV released Sunday.
Trump, a businessman and entrepreneur, is becoming the head of the United States, “one of the world’s leading countries, one of the leading economies, one of the leading military powers,” Putin said in the interview.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address in the Kremlin on Thursday. He touted a nascent economic recovery from a years-long recession and his country’s readiness to work with the United States when it gets a new president. (Photo: Alexei Druzhinin/Planet Pix via ZUMA Wire
“As he was able to achieve success in business, this shows that he is a smart man. And if he is a smart man, this means he will completely and quickly enough understand another level of responsibility,” Putin said.
Trump, whom Putin previously praised as “talented,” has boasted that he can use his deal-making experience as a businessman to bring bilateral ties with Russia back from their frostiest point since the Cold War.
– dpa
