Putin Skewers Nobel Committee, Praises Trump’s Gaza Efforts

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday heaped praise on President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Middle East and at the same time trashed the Nobel Committee.

Putin said to reporters while in Tajikistan that Trump “is definitely making an effort and working on these issues – on achieving peace and resolving complex international affairs. The clearest example of that is the situation in the Middle East.”

“Whether the current US president deserves the Nobel Prize or not, I don’t know. But he is truly doing a lot to resolve complex crises that have dragged on for years, even decades,” the Russian leader added.

He then slammed the Nobel Committee for awarding its prestigious peace prize to “people who did nothing for peace” – in reference to the announcement just hours before that of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado being this year’s winner.

“In my view, those decisions have done enormous damage to the prize’s reputation,” Putin told reporters.

President Trump had actually later in the day acknowledged Putin’s words, and expressed agreement with them on Truth Social. He thanked the Russian leader in a rarity for a US president. Also, Russian media was quick to take note…

Trump sends THANKS to Prez Putin for his Nobel Peace Prize endorsement

Today Putin lamented the Prize often goes to ‘people who have done nothing for the world’

Adding Trump ‘SOLVES complex problems’ https://t.co/MN2Z0njcPJ pic.twitter.com/vtNzvaE5s5

— RT (@RT_com) October 10, 2025

But one crucial area where there hasn’t been much of a breakthrough is the Ukraine war. Putin described in his comments that Russia and the United States “could still accomplish a lot more” based on what was discussed and agreed upon with Trump during their Aug. 15 summit in Alaska.

“We didn’t fully disclose what was discussed in Anchorage. We continue to operate based on those talks and have made no changes on our part,” Putin said.

This somewhat contradicts his own officials, who have said that any positive momentum from the engagement has faded and been exhausted. Currently the US may still be mulling sending Kiev Tomahawk missiles, which would certainly sink US-Moscow relations.

For peace to be achieved, Ukraine would have to make territorial concessions, but the Zelensky government and its European backers have shown no interest in taking this step. Instead they have openly resisted it even as a possibility, with Zelensky not even appearing to contemplate giving up Crimea.