WASHINGTON — (CNN) Donald Trump has said that he would “get along very well” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Apparently, the feeling is mutual.
Putin offered high praise for the billionaire businessman turned Republican presidential front-runner on Thursday during an annual news conference with reporters.
“He is a bright and talented person without any doubt,” Putin said, adding that Trump is “an outstanding and talented personality.”
And in remarks closely mirroring Trump’s own assessment of the race, Putin also offered his assessment of the U.S. presidential campaign, calling Trump “the absolute leader of the presidential race,” according to the Russian TASS news agency.
While most Republican presidential contenders have demonized the Russian president — including calling him a “gangster” and a “thug” — and pushed plans to isolate Russia on the world stage, Trump has instead touted his ability to improve U.S.-Russian relations by working with the autocratic Russian leader.
Trump has repeatedly touted his joint appearance with Putin on an episode of CBS’s “60 Minutes” this fall, referring to himself and Putin as “stablemates.”
Trump said in October that he and Putin “are very different” but suggested that he and Putin could move beyond the frigid relations that have come to define U.S.-Russia relations under President Barack Obama.
“I think that I would at the same time get along very well with him. He does not like Obama at all. He doesn’t respect Obama at all. And I’m sure that Obama doesn’t like him very much,” Trump said then. “But I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don’t think you’d be having the kind of problems that you’re having right now.”
Putin referenced Trump’s reported desire “to reach another, deeper level of relations” with Russia.
“What else can we do but to welcome it? Certainly, we welcome it,” Putin said.
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