MOSCOW — (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory in his first public comment on the U.S. vote, and he praised the president-elect’s courage during the July assassination attempt.
“His behavior at the moment of an attempt on his life left an impression on me. He turned out to be a brave man,” Putin said at an international forum following a speech in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
“He manifested himself in the very correct way, bravely as a man,” he added.
Putin also said that what Trump has said “about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves attention at least.”
The Kremlin earlier welcomed Trump’s claim that he could negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine “in 24 hours” but emphasized that it will wait for concrete policy steps.
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