The latest chapter in the budding bromance between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin arrived Friday in the form of a letter, written by the Russian president to the U.S. president-elect. And because Trump seems to take great pleasure in watching the rest of the world squirm at his cozying up to the Kremlin, he decided to make the contents of the letter public.
In it, Putin avoided mentioning any of the conflicts between the two super powers, and instead expressed his hopes that Russia and the United States could “take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation.”
“Serious global and regional challenges, which our countries have had to face in recent years, show that the relations between Russia and the U.S. remain an important factor in ensuring the stability and security of the modern world,” Putin wrote.
Trump meanwhile, continued to praise Putin, calling his letter “very nice” and his thoughts “so correct.”
“I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path,” Trump said in a statement.
Christmas (Eng) by Elliot Smilowitz on Scribd
The letter arrives amid growing fears of a nuclear arms race between the U.S. and Russia after Trump took to Twitter and doubled down on nuclear expansion earlier in the week. Trump dismissed those concerns and told “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski that the United States will “outmatch” its nuclear rivals “at every pass and outlast them all.”
“Let it be an arms race,” Trump said.
Of course, Putin made no mention of escalating tensions, choosing instead to send his “warmest Christmas and New Year greetings.” The Russian president ended the letter by offering his “sincere wishes” to the Trump family "of sound health, happiness, well-being, success and all the best."
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