Donald Trump calls Putin 'genius' for recognising Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine

The former president of the United States Donald Trump has called Russian President Vladimir Putin's current decision to acknowledge the independence of the two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as “genius.” During an interview on "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," Trump claimed that Putin's recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics in Ukraine on Monday was "smart" and "pretty savvy", as per The Hill. 

The comments of the ex-president come after Russian President Putin signed a decree proclaiming the rebel republics as independent states on Monday. In the interview, when questioned about Russia's recognition move, Trump just praised Putin. He remarked, "I went in yesterday, and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius’. Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful," Sputnik reported.  

'He's going to be a peacekeeper': Trump

Claiming Putin’s move to be ‘Smart’, Donald Trump went on to say, “He is going to go in and be a peacekeeper." Trump, who has always tried to establish a tight connection with Putin during his presidency, noted that it has been the most powerful peacekeeping force, he has ever seen.

He added, "That is the strongest peace force. We could use that on our southern border... There were more army tanks than I have ever seen. They are going to keep the peace, all right." 

In addition to this, Trump has even expressed his opinion in the latter part of the interview, by saying that the scenario in Ukraine would have been different if he was still the US president, given his 'personal relationship' with Putin and the latter's strong position. In the interview, he said, “How come there was none of this was happening during the Trump administration? I knew Putin very well. I got along with him great. He liked me. I liked him,” Sputnik reported. Calling Putin, a “tough cookie” Trump said he has “a lot of the great charm and a lot of pride”.  

After recognising the two Donbas zones, Donetsk and Luhansk, controlled by Russian-backed rebels, Putin dispatched "peace-keeping" soldiers, drawing international condemnation. On Tuesday, US President Biden slammed the army deployment as "the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine" and hit Moscow with a slew of penalties. 

Meanwhile, in response to Trump’s remarks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki asserted during a press briefing, “As a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy."  

(Image: AP)