Vladimir Putin has claimed Donald Trump’s guilty verdict should make one issue “clear” to people in the UK.
Speaking to international news agencies last night, the Russian president suggested that Brits should now see that the prosecution of Trump is akin to “burning” US democracy to the ground.
The former US president and presumptive Republican candidate was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records last week in his New York hush money trial.
Trump had pleaded not guilty to all the felony charges, and has since called the trial “rigged”.
Still, according to the Russian state news agency TASS, Putin showed unwavering support for the ex-president.
He said: “You all know very well what is happening now in the United States.
“They are burning themselves from the inside, they are destroying their own country and their own political system in the course of internal political struggle.
“And, whether you like it or not, I should say that they are burning to the ground their imaginary leadership in the sphere of democracy.”
He claimed that Trump had been prosecuted without any direct evidence – even though the prosecutors had plenty – suggesting people were “using the judicial system for domestic political struggle.”
He then said: “It is clear to us here in Russia. I’m sure it is also clear for people in the United Kingdom and all over the world. And, most importantly, people in the United States also think so.”
It’s not entirely clear why Putin mentioned British people before he discussed the impact on Americans.
Putin also claimed that Trump’s verdict pushed his approval rating up as donations to his campaign increased, demonstrating that the general public in the US think “these decisions were made for political reasons”.
The Kremlin had a similar take last week, telling reporters it proved there was part of a “de facto elimination of political rivals by all possible legal and illegal means”.
The Russian president has himself been accused of eliminating his political rivals.
He won his fifth term in office earlier this year, having sidelined any feasible opponents and coercing voters across Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine into voting for him.
Trump has often spoken of the special relationship between himself and Putin, alleging the authoritarian leader would grant him special “favours” due to their bond.
But, the Russian president has played down their friendship, even claiming he would prefer Joe Biden to win in the US’s upcoming presidential election.