Vladimir Putin pays tribute to ‘courageous’ Donald Trump after election victory

Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory and called him a “courageous man”.

Speaking at an event in the Russian city of Sochi, the Russian president said Trump was “hunted from all sides” during his first term in the White House.

Putin also said that Trump’s claim that he can help end the war in Ukraine “at least deserves attention”.

During his campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said he could end the war “in a day,” but never elaborated on how that might happen.

During Putin’s speech, which lasted several hours and covered a wide range of topics, he also talked about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July, saying it “made an impression” on him.

After being shot, Trump pumped his fist in the air and said the words “fight, fight, fight” before being hauled away by Secret Service agents.

“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a man,” Putin said.

Asked if he was ready to hold talks with Donald Trump, Putin replied: “We are ready, we are ready.”

Trump had already said on Thursday that he was prepared to talk to Putin, telling NBC News: “I think we will talk”.

The Kremlin was widely accused of meddling in the 2016 presidential election to boost Donald Trump’s campaign against Hilary Clinton, claims denied by Moscow.

US special counsel Robert Mueller investigated allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016, but said in a report three years later that no evidence of collusion had been found.

Elsewhere Thursday, leaders gathered for the European Political Community in Budapest discussed Trump’s return to the White House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a “very warm” and “productive conversation” with the president-elect.

“But we have to do everything to ensure that the results of our interaction between Ukraine and America, all of Europe and America, are productive and positive,” he added.

Many in Ukraine and Europe are worried that Trump could slow, if not stop, the flow of US military aid to Kiev when he takes power in January.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer assured Zelensky at the summit that Britain’s support for Ukraine in its war with Russia remains “ironclad”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – who previously said he celebrated Trump’s victory by “happily tapping the vodka supply” – said the US and Europe now face tough negotiations on trade.

Orban, who is a close ally of Trump, told a press conference that “the trade issue with the United States will come up and it will not be easy”.

Before Trump won the election, he said he would impose 10% tariffs on all imports.

“There was an agreement that Europe should assume greater responsibility for its own peace and security in the future. To put it even more bluntly, we cannot expect Americans to be the only ones to take care of us,” Orban said.