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Vladimir Putin has described Donald Trump as a ‘flamboyant and outstanding’ man and expressed his keenness to work with him on international issues in the future.
The Russian president described Trump as the ‘absolute leader of the Presidential race’ during a three-hour televised news conference.
Putin’s valediction of the man leading the presidential race for the Republicans came after Trump made comments earlier this week saying that he would get along with the President .
Donald Trump's most controversial quotesShow all 14 1 /14Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didn’t know the air conditioner didn’t work and sweated like dogs, and they didn’t know the room was too big because they didn’t have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?"
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me —and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate."
Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?"
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money."
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Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again."
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"I will get along - I think - with Putin, and I will get along with others, and we will have a much more stable - stable world. I would talk to him," Trump said.
He went on to say: "It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters."
Trump revealed he wanted to move on with Russia, which may have encouraged Putin’s optimistic view of the Republican candidate.
Putin said: "He is saying that he wants to move to a different level of relations with Russia, to a closer, deeper one. How can we not welcome that? Of course, we welcome that."
Earlier this month Trump was fiercely condemned by world leader s for his controversial remarks made about Muslims in the wake of the Paris terrorism attacks, and called for a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States’.
In the same press conference, Putin also issued a furious new attack on the government of Turkey over the shooting down of a Russian warplane, using crude language and saying it may be impossible to heal the relationship between the two countries .
He accused Turkey of carrying out “a hostile act” when it destroyed a Russian Su-24 bomber on the Turkish-Syrian border in late November.
“The Turks,” he said, “decided to lick the Americans in a certain place.”
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