Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his characterization of Donald Trump as a "bright" person Friday, praising his commitment to revamp relations between Washington and Moscow.
Putin said during remarks at Russia’s top economic forum that he would work with any presidential candidate who wins the White House in November to work on strained relations, the Associated Press reported.
He didn’t comment directly on presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but said he was appreciative of former president Bill Clinton’s help.
Putin first called Trump "bright and talented" in December. Trump embraced the comments, calling the praise a "great honor" and touting Putin as a world leader he would "get along very well with."
"It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump said.
The presumptive GOP nominee later called Putin a "strong leader" during an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
"I’ve always felt fine about Putin. I think that he’s a strong leader," he said. "I think he’s up in the 80s, which is you see where Obama’s in the 30s and the low 40s and he’s up in the 80s, and I don’t know who does the polls, maybe he does the polls, but I think they’re done by American companies, actually."
Mitt Romney, who called Russia the United States’ greatest enemy during his failed presidential bid and has been outspoken against Trump’s candidacy, quickly condemned the praise.
Important distinction: thug Putin kills journalists and opponents; our presidents kill terrorists and enemy combatants.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) December 18, 2015