Newsman: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory, calling him a “courageous man” who was “hounded from all sides” and saying he was ready to talk to the president-elect about Ukraine.
Russia’s leader Putin’s made first public remarks late Thursday during an event at the Black Sea resort of Sochi. In his address, Putin said he was “ready” for dialogue with Trump on Ukraine. He said a July assassination attempt on Trump − during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania − made an “impression” on him.
“People show who they are in extraordinary circumstances. This is where a person reveals himself. And he showed himself, in my opinion, in a very correct manner, courageously. Like a man,” Putin said.
Russia’s president also claimed that during Trump’s first White House term he was “hounded by all sides,” a statement that may resonate with the former president who has long alleged, often without providing evidence, that he’s a victim of “bad people” on issues from election interference to his criminal prosecutions.
“We have to do everything to ensure that the results of our interaction between Ukraine and America, the whole of Europe and America, are productive and positive,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.
