President Vladimir Putin has said that one of President Donald Trump's strongest character traits is his determination to fulfill the promises he made during the election campaign.
"You know, one of the great virtues of President Trump is that he strives to fulfill his promises, above all to his voters – the American people," Putin said, speaking to reporters at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday.
"This, incidentally, is a specific character trait of the current president (and a positive one I think), because as a rule, after the elections, more often than not, leaders tend to forget what they promised their people when heading into the election. With Trump that's not the case. You might criticize him for what he does, and many engage in such criticism, but one thing is clear: that he's trying to fulfil his election promises," Putin added.
Putin and Trump met in Helsinki earlier this month, where they discussed a broad range of issues related to bilateral relations, as well as global problems. In their private two-hour meeting, the presidents discussed nuclear proliferation, Syria, Iran, Ukraine, economic cooperation and other issues. The men labeled the talks "successful," "productive," and essential for improving ties. They also agreed that there were "no objective reasons" for continuing tensions. Upon returning home, Trump was hit with intense criticism by a slew of current and former US officials. Trump responded to these "haters" by saying critics were just mad that he didn't turn the summit into a "boxing match."