Donald Trump says a gathering is being arrange between himself and Vladimir Putin – and that he and Barack Obama “probably” like one another.
Republican US president-elect Mr Trump spoke to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday, saying Russian president Mr Putin “wants to meet, and we are setting it up”.
“He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess,” Mr Trump mentioned.
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned on Friday there was a “mutual desire” to arrange a gathering – however added no particulars had been confirmed but and that there could also be progress as soon as Mr Trump is inaugurated on 20 January.
“Moscow has repeatedly declared its openness to contacts with international leaders, including the US president, including Donald Trump,” Mr Peskov added.
“What is required is a mutual desire and political will to conduct dialogue and resolve existing problems through dialogue. We see that Mr Trump also declares his readiness to resolve problems through dialogue. We welcome this. There are still no specifics, we proceed from the mutual readiness for the meeting.”
Picture:
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in July 2017. Pic: AP
Trump on Obama: ‘We simply bought alongside’
Mr Trump additionally made some lighter remarks concerning a viral trade between himself and former Democrat President Barack Obama at Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday.
The pair sat collectively for the late president’s service in Washington DC on Thursday, and could possibly be seen talking for a number of minutes because the remaining mourners filed in earlier than it started.
Mr Obama was seen nodding as his successor spoke earlier than breaking into a smile.
Requested concerning the trade, Mr Trump mentioned: “I didn’t realise how friendly it looked.
“I mentioned, ‘boy, they appear to be two those that like one another’. And we most likely do.
“We have a little different philosophies, right? But we probably do. I don’t know. We just got along. But I got along with just about everybody.”
The amicable trade comes after years of criticising one another within the public eye; it was Mr Trump who unfold the so-called “birther” conspiracy principle about Mr Obama in 2011, falsely asserting that he was not born in the US.
Insults continued for years, with Mr Obama famously dedicating a lot of his last White Home Correspondents’ Dinner speech in 2016 to jokes at his political rival’s expense.
Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked the Obamas, saying the previous president was “ineffective” and “terrible” and calling former first woman Michelle Obama “nasty” as not too long ago as October final 12 months.
On Kamala Harris’s marketing campaign path final 12 months, Mr Obama mentioned Mr Trump was a “78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago”, whereas the previous first woman mentioned that “the consequences of him ever being president again are brutally serious.”
