Putin Says He Has ‘Zero Personal Relationship’ With Trump

FILE - In this July 7, 2017, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump has made cl... FILE - In this July 7, 2017, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump has made clear who he considers to be his friends, and his foes, on the international stage. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn’t have a personal relationship with President Donald Trump and that he’s unhappy with the way Trump has handled the nuclear standoff in North Korea.

“We have zero personal relationship. We’ve met only once,” Putin said Wednesday at an Energy Week conference in Moscow, according to Bloomberg.

Putin called Trump a strong leader who would “never be anybody’s hostage,” but said the relationship between the two countries has been in turmoil because of political divisions in the U.S.

He said that Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un need to “lower the rhetoric,” adding that threats from both sides could lead to “a very danger dead end,” according to Bloomberg.

He said he knew that Kim’s father, Kim Jong-Il, had an atomic bomb in 2000 and nearly two decades of pressuring the country to stand down hasn’t worked.

“Those who try to speak to North Korea from a position of strength only shore up the North Korean regime,” he said, adding that he’s made that point to Trump in the past. “It’s his first presidential term, he’s still building up experience on that. But I think he took the arguments on board, he heard them.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. “Our relationship is strictly feudal,” Putin continued. “He is my vassal, and I am his Lord.”

  2. “We have zero personal relationship. We’ve met only once,”

    “I left the money on the nightstand, too. You can’t get more impersonal than that!”

  3. Avatar for sanni sanni says:

    “Those who try to speak to North Korea from a position of strength only shore up the North Korean regime,” he said, adding that he’s made that point to Trump in the past. “It’s his first presidential term, he’s still building up experience on that. But I think he took the arguments on board, he heard them.”

    Something seems to get lost in the translation - unless he is taking a Ryan and Trump on racism type stand - ala we spoke, he listened, he’ll grow … even there is zero evidence of that.

    They only met One Time? We know better Vlad. Met several time at the G8 alone. That game of look over there/distraction, except for the Trumpioid addicted, it just doesn’t work.

  4. “We have zero personal relationship”

    Nobody cares about your personal relationship with Putin. We’re interested in the business and political ones.

  5. Well that just settles it now, doesn’t it? Not buddies at all. Then he throws in some weak criticism to try and make it look sincere.

    Putin has less credibility than Cheetoh Benito. This chaos is just what he wants.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

30 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for silas1898 Avatar for meri Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for sysprog Avatar for clunkertruck Avatar for dave48 Avatar for docmoore Avatar for krusher Avatar for Lacuna-Synecdoche Avatar for theghostofeustacetilley Avatar for sanni Avatar for dickweed Avatar for tiptree Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for antisachetdethe Avatar for tsp Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for dcd Avatar for jacked_donkey Avatar for msc00 Avatar for outsidertrading618

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: