Moscow PTI Dec 23
Russia's President Vladimir Putin said today that US President-elect Donald Trump accurately read the popular mood in the United States to win the election, although “nobody except us” believed in his success.
The US president-elect “precisely felt the mood of the society and worked in that precise paradigm, he went to the end, though nobody believed that he would win except us,” Putin said while answering a state media journalist at his annual press conference.
Asked what he thought about support among some Americans for him, Putin said “I don't put it down to me, the fact that a large part of Republican voters support the Russian president.” “It means that a large part of the American people have the same idea of how the world should be, of our common dangers and problems,” he said.
“It's good that there are people that sympathise with us in our concept of traditional values,” he said, and it may be a good starting point in “building relations” between the United States and Russia.
Russia and Putin has been accused by Washington of meddling in the US elections but the Kremlin leader broadly dismissed this as attempts by the election losers to save face by blaming outside factors.
Putin suggested that the hackers behind the massive breach of Democratic Party emails did a public service by exposing “true information” which is more important than the nature of the hack.
“The most important thing is the gist of the information that hackers provided to the public,” he said.
“What is the best evidence that the hackers unveiled true information?” he said. “That after the hackers showed how public opinion is manipulated inside the Democratic Party...
the chief of the Democratic National Committee (Debbie Wasserman Schultz) quit.” “That means she admitted that the hackers showed the truth,” he said, but “instead of apologising... they started to shout about who initiated the hack attacks.” “Does that really matter?” Putin asked.
The US Democratic party have lost not just the presidential election, but also in the Senate and Congress, Putin said. “Was that also our doing?” “They are losing on all fronts and are looking for the guilty party on the side,” he said. “That's beneath their dignity. You have to lose with dignity.” (
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Putin hails Aleppo recapture, moves to expand Syria presence
Moscow PTI Dec 23
Russian President Vladimir Putin said today the recapture of the devastated city of Aleppo by Syrian regime forces was a “very important” step towards stabilising the war-torn country.
“The liberation of Aleppo from radical elements is a very important part of the normalisation in Syria, and I hope, for the region overall,” Putin told defence minister Sergei Shoigu in a meeting, the Kremlin said.
The Syrian army said late yesterday that it had retaken full control of Aleppo, scoring its biggest victory against opposition forces since the civil war erupted in 2011.
The Kremlin strongman said that after the ouster of rebels from Aleppo, Moscow will now look to end fighting across the country.
“Everything needs to be done for fighting to stop on all Syrian territory,” Putin said.
“In any case, we will strive toward this.” Putin said during his annual press conference today that he hoped that fresh peace talks could get all sides in the conflict to agree to a nationwide ceasefire.
“The next step must be the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement on all of Syria's territory,” he said.
Putin said that the presidents of Turkey, Iran and Syria had agreed to take part in new peace talks, which Russia had proposed take place in the Kazakh capital Astana.
Moscow has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of long-time ally President Bashar al-Assad since September 2015 and has taken steps to boost its presence in the country.
Russia forged a deal with Turkey - which supports groups seeking to topple Assad - that saw rebel fighters and civilians leave Aleppo.
Shoigu said today that some 34,000 people had been evacuated from rebel-held eastern Aleppo since December 15.
The Kremlin said today that Putin had signed an order to expand Russia's naval facility in the Syrian city of Tartus and allow Russian warships into Syrian waters.
Russia's defence ministry said in October that Moscow was poised to transform the Tartus facility into a permanent base, without providing a timeline for its transformation.
Putin that month approved a law ratifying Moscow's deal with Damascus to deploy its forces in the country indefinitely, firming Russia's long-term presence in the country.
Russia's bombardment of Aleppo saw the West levelling accusations of war crimes that stung the Kremlin and further strained its fragile relations with the West. (
