Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday gave a nod to President Trump's efforts to broker peace—even though the Nobel Peace Prize went to somebody else. Speaking at a summit in Tajikistan, Putin praised Trump for his ceasefire efforts in Gaza and Ukraine, the Washington Post reports. "He's really doing a lot to resolve such complex crises that have lasted for years and even decades," Putin said. If the Gaza ceasefire holds, it will be a "historic" achievement, he said. Putin, who started the Ukraine war, said the Nobel committee's "credibility has largely been lost," reports Politico.
Putin sidestepped direct comments on this year's winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, but didn't hold back about what he thinks of the committee. "There have been cases where the committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to people who have done nothing for peace," he said, per the Post. "A person comes, good or bad, and (gets it) in a month, in two months, boom. For what? He didn't do anything at all. In my view, these decisions have done enormous damage to the prestige of this prize."
On Ukraine, Putin said there are "complex issues that require further analysis," but "perhaps we can still accomplish a lot based on the agreements and discussions" in his August summit with Trump in Alaska. The Russian leader also expressed hope for a one-year extension of the New START nuclear arms treaty, which is set to expire in February. But "if the American side decides that it doesn't need it, it's not critical for us at all," he said. Trump shared a video of Putin's Nobel remarks on Truth Social, writing, "Thank you to President Putin!"
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