Putin: America is the only world superpower

Vladimir Putin has decided to soften his previous comments about Donald Trump, and commenting on the presidential elections, he said he acknowledges that America is probably the only world superpower, writes The Guardian, reports NAP.

- America represents a great power. Today it is probably the only superpower. We accept that, said the Russian president in his address at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

- We want and are ready to work with the United States, emphasized the president.

Alluding to the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and EU due to military actions in Ukraine, Putin said:

- The world needs strong nations like the US. And we need them. But we don't need them to constantly interfere in our affairs, telling us how to live, not allowing Europe to build a relationship with us.

When asked about Republican candidate Trump, Putin described him as "flamboyant" and "colorful." He used a word in Russian that can have multiple meanings besides "colorful" - in a somewhat amplified sense.

- You see, it is as I said - Trump is a colorful person. Isn't he colorful? Colorful. That is the only characterization I would make of him.

- But what I will pay special attention to and what I consider welcome, indeed, where I see nothing wrong is that Mr. Trump has stated that he is ready to restore Russian-American relations. Is there anything wrong with that? We all accept that, don't we?

Last December, a few months before Trump's campaign, Putin called him a "colorful person, talented, without a doubt," and said:

- It is not up to us to decide his merits, that is up to the American voters, but he is the absolute leader in the presidential race.

Trump, months later, misinterpreted Putin's words as a "great honor" and praise, not taking into account the double meaning of Putin's words.

- It is always good when someone calls you brilliant, and especially when that someone is the head of Russia, Trump told MSNBC after Putin's comments.

Trump misunderstood the comments as a compliment to his intelligence:

- Putin from Russia called Trump a genius.

Trump proposed US-Russian cooperation on issues of Syria, the fight against terrorism, and trade agreements, and defended Putin regarding his policy of eliminating media freedom. Over the last 15 years, the Kremlin and its allies have shut down all independent news organizations, and the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 has been linked by activists to Putin's Kremlin. Trump also commented on this for ABC:

- It has never been proven that he killed anyone.

Putin spoke cautiously about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, saying he had no direct cooperation with her when she was Secretary of State.

- She probably has her own stance on American-Russian relations, the President of Russia was vague.

At the same time, he praised her husband, former President Bill Clinton, saying:

- We had a very good relationship. I can even say I am grateful to him for several things when I was entering world politics. He showed signs of attention, respect for me personally and for Russia several times.

In his address on Friday, Putin also said that trust in Russian-European relations must be restored and cooperation at the highest level resumed, reports the British Guardian.