Donald Trump has praised Vladimir Putin for his handling of the unfolding Ukraine situation.
He called the Russian president a “very savvy” guy saying that Putin had made a “genius” move by declaring Donetsk and Luhansk, two Russian backed regions of eastern Ukraine, as independent states and moving Russian armed forces there as peacekeepers.
Trump said ‘they’re going to keep peace all right.’
During an interview with podcaster Buck Sexton Trump said: “This is genius,Putin declared a big portion of … Ukraine … as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. … I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force. … We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re going to keep the peace all right. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy … I know him very well. Very, very well.”
The White House has condemned Trump’s comments
According to Sky news: In a press briefing yesterday, the White House’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki condemned the comments made by Mr Trump and said they try not to “take advice from anyone who praises Putin and his military strategy”.
“So there’s a bit of a different tactic, a bit of a different approach, and that’s probably why President Biden and not his predecessor was able to rally the world and the global community in taking steps against Russia’s aggression,” she said.