Vladimir Putin has finally congratulated Donald Trump on his US election victory - and described him as “manly” in the process.
The Russian president broke his silence on the Republican’s crushing win over Kamala Harris at the annual meeting of the Valdai Club in Sochi.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that while his boss was open to dialogue with the States, he was “not aware of the president’s plans to congratulate Trump”.
It was then reported that Trump did receive informal congratulations from “acquaintances” around Putin and his top officials.
But speaking on Thursday, Putin said: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his victory in the US presidential election. I have already said that we will work with any head of state who is trusted by the American people.”
He then went on to praise the president-elect’s response to being shot during an assassination attempt in July.
“He turned out to be a courageous man,” the Russian leader said. “He showed himself, in my opinion, in a very correct way: courageous, manly.”
His comments will be seen as the rekindling of the relationship the pair enjoyed during Trump’s first term in office.
Trump has spoken favourably of Putin over the years – calling his invasion of Ukraine “genius” and “savvy”, and not denying reporting that they’ve spoken over the phone since he left the White House in 2020.
Trump has also claimed he can end the war in Ukraine in one day - sparking fears that he will pile pressure on Kyiv to give up territory it has already lost to Russia since the 2022 invasion.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, also admitted that Trump’s victory was “useful” for Putin.
Posting on his official Telegram account, he said: “Trump has one useful quality for us: as a businessman to the core, he mortally dislikes spending money on various hangers–on and stupid hanger-on allies, on bad charity projects and on voracious international organisations.”
Suggesting Trump would not want to spend money on the Ukrainian authorities, he continued: “The question is how much Trump will be forced to give to the war. He’s stubborn, but the system is stronger.”