© ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/POOL/REUTERSPutin ved Valdai i Sochi, den 19. oktober
Putin, som amerikanske embedsmænd har anklaget for at tippe det amerikanske præsidentvalg i 2016 i Trumps favør, brød en stribe af fjentlige diplomatiske udvekslinger mellem de to ledende magter under en tale torsdag for at forsvare sin tidligere politiske allierede fra, hvad han anser som unfair kritik hjemme. I en tale ved Valdai Diskussionsklubben i Sochi, benægtede Putin igen alle påstande om, at Rusland blandede sig i sidste års amerikansk valg, ved at hævde at Trump "vandt ærligt" og at han og hans støttere har opført sig berettiget, som reaktion på det nuværende politiske klima i USA.
"Inden for landet, vises han manglende respekt. Dette er desværre en negativ komponent i det amerikasnke politiske system," sagde Putin ifølge det statsadministrerede Tass nyhedsbureau.
"Man kan diskutere, men man kan ikke vise manglende respekt, ikke blot for ham personligt, men for de mennesker, der stemte på ham," tilføjede han.
Kommentar: Delvist oversat af Sott.net fra Putin says Americans should stop disrespecting Trump and his supporters - he doesn't need any advice
Putin also defended Trump's nontraditional, sometimes controversial approach to leading the country, calling the Republican's unpredictable decisions a "reasonable response" to "great domestic resistance" that prevents Trump from delivering on electoral promises. Trump has made similar arguments, mostly blaming the media for what he considers to be an overtly negative portrayal of his administration.
Putin said he believes "the president of the United States does not need any advice because one has to possess certain talent and go through this trial to be elected, even without having the experience of such big administrative work."
On the campaign trail and following his election last year, Trump frequently expressed his desire to mend the political relationship between the U.S. and Russia, which had been severely damaged during the administration of President Barack Obama. Trump touted a number of views that aligned him with the Kremlin, including dismissing the Western military alliance NATO as "obsolete" and building a joint U.S.-Russia effort to battle the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and other jihadi groups in Syria.
When Trump came to office in January, however, mounting suspicions among U.S. lawmakers and officials that Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to discredit and defeat Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton forced him to largely disassociate himself from Putin. While no evidence has been produced publicly to corroborate this theory, Trump's administration has been plagued by a series of high-level dismissals ever since.
Trump's popularity has widely suffered as a result, making him the least popular president since at least the 1940s, and possibly ever. Another poll in August showed that, when asked the best solution to dealing with the president, most respondents chose impeachment.
Putin's remarks toward Trump came after the Russian leader criticized the U.S. for creating a "dangerous" situation by picking a fight with nuclear-armed North Korea, and accused Washington of seeking to perpetuate "chaos" in the Middle East. Putin, who Trump long alluded to as a possible friend, also disclosed that he believed Russia's biggest mistake in the past 15 years was trusting the West too much.
When asked whether he believed Hillary Clinton would have made a better ally, he responded: "We don't know what it would have been like."
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