Putin praises Trump, blasts US political system

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin lavished praise on President Donald Trump on Wednesday, but added that he was sorely disappointed with the US political system, saying that it has been “eating itself up.”

Speaking in an interview with the Russian state television, Putin described Trump as a great communicator.

“I have no disappointment at all,” Putin said when asked about the US president. “Moreover, on a personal level he made a very good impression on me.”

The two leaders met on the sidelines of international summits last year. Putin praised Trump as a “balanced” man, who easily gets into the gist of various issues and listens to his interlocutor.

He also noted that he spent time talking to Melania Trump when he sat next to her at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany in July.

Asked jokingly if he was trying to recruit her, the KGB veteran said: “No, I stopped dealing with that a long time ago.”