Vladimir Putin praised Donald Trump for his work on the Israel-Hamas deal – and was asked whether he thought the US president had been unfairly snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize
Donald Trump has missed out on a coveted Nobel Peace Prize – but has won the support of a controversial friend in the Kremlin over the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Vladimir Putin said that if the agreement between Israel and Hamas – which came into force today – manages to hold, it would mark an “historic event” and a major achievement by the US president.
It comes after Benjamin Netanyahu joined domestic allies of Donald Trump today in claiming that he should have been given the gong for his work in the Middle East, despite the deal being ratified just hours before the winner was announced this morning. Trump himself has spoken of his desire to win the prize on multiple occasions, even claiming earlier this year that he “deserves” the award.
READ MORE: ‘I’m at the Gaza border – an eerie calm falls as Hamas readies crucial hostage release’READ MORE: Putin’s nuclear threat to ‘wipe out’ UK as propagandist says world ‘will applaud’
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner was Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was lauded for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights” in her country after being barred from last year’s presidential elections. Trump congratulated Machado in a phone call on Friday, her campaign manager Magalli Meda told US media.
Nominations for this year’s prize closed on January 31, just 11 days after Donald Trump became president. The winner was then decided by a panel of five judges appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.
Asked by reporters today whether he thinks Mr Trump was unjustly passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize, Putin replied that it was not for him to decide – but talked up Mr Trump’s efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza and in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, during a summit of former Soviet nations, he said: “He’s really doing a lot to resolve such complex crises that have lasted for years and even decades.”
He added that if the Gaza ceasefire deal is carried out, it would mark a “historic” achievement. Trump quickly thanked Putin on his Truth Social network, posting a video showing the Russian president’s comments and citing his praise on trying to settle global crises.
Putin did not comment on Ms Machado’s win, but he said without mentioning any names that the Nobel Committee in the past has awarded the prize to those who have accomplished little to help global peace. “There have been cases where the committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to people who have done nothing for peace,” Putin said.
In a remark likely aimed at Barack Obama, who was awarded the prize in 2009 just a few months after becoming US president, he added: “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.”
Putin also said he and Trump discussed ways to settle the war in Ukraine at their summit in Alaska in August, adding that “on the whole, we have an understanding, both on the part of the United States and on the part of the Russian Federation, about where we should move and what we should strive for in order to end this conflict”. The Russian president said he told Mr Trump in Alaska that he needed more time to think about it and discuss it with his allies. “These are complex issues that require further analysis, but we remain committed to the discussion that took place in Anchorage,” he said, adding that “perhaps we can still accomplish a lot based on the agreements and discussions in Anchorage”.