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Russian media praises Donald Trump: 'Democracy and human rights are not in his vocabulary'

TV anchor Dmitry Kiselyov praised the former reality star because the words 'democracy' and 'human rights' are 'not in his lexicon'

Caroline Mortimer
Tuesday 15 November 2016 17:48 GMT
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Russian TV thinks Donald Trump might be the best thing that has happened to Russia for a long time
Russian TV thinks Donald Trump might be the best thing that has happened to Russia for a long time (AP)

The surprise victory of Donald Trump in the US elections has provoked dismay across the world’s media with one notable exception.

Russian state TV anchor, Dmitry Kiselyov, triumphantly declared the nation was “congratulating themselves with Trump’s election” during his weekly news show Vesti Nedeli.

He hailed Mr Trump’s shock victory over Hillary Clinton in the US electoral college saying it would restore relations between Moscow and Washington which have deteriorated sharply over the past few years following Russian intervention in Ukraine and Syria.

He praised Mr Trump for not using words like “democracy” and “human rights” which he said were “not in his lexicon” because Barack Obama and Ms Clinton had “soiled” them.

The Kremlin has dismissed all criticism of its actions in Aleppo where it has been accused of deliberately targeting civilians and aid convoys – prompting fears of a second Cold War.

He said the Russian people were so happy about the results of the election because “in Russia, there is no real anti-Americanism”, the Moscow Times reported.

Despite this, earlier this year Mr Kiselyov still thought it wise to threaten the US saying Russia is still the only country in the world which can turn it into “radioactive dust”.

Mr Kiselyov also used the opportunity to praise his own president, Vladimir Putin, for being the only world leader to predict the result.

He called on European voters to do similar in upcoming elections saying far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen a good choice for the French presidency and said anti-immigration party Alternative For Germany should oust German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Although Mr Kiselyov was the most effusive in his praise for the election result, he was the only one to crow about the perceived triumph of Russian foreign policy.

Dmitry Kiselyov praised Vladimir Putin for 'predicting the result' (Reuters)

On Wednesday morning, state-owned news company RT featured several English-language articles on its homepage mocking the Western countries who previously criticised Mr Trump’s campaign but were now sending congratulations to him.

It highlighted several U-turns including that of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who openly supported Ms Clinton, saying Mr Trump was a man “who invests a lot in a policy of fear”.

Following the result, he said: “I wish him well. The Italo-American friendship is solid”.

One piece said “Leaders around the world who previously spoke out against Donald Trump now face the unenviable task of swallowing their pride and issuing grudging congratulations to the president-elect to ensure continuing good relations with the US”.

Another article claimed that analysts were predicting he would “propose a new world agenda”.

It quoted the leader of Russian upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko said: “One may express the hope, a cautious hope so far, that the US foreign policy will change and that the person who is not burdened with the previous administration’s decisions will be a realist, a pragmatist.

“There is a hope that constructive cooperation between Russia and the US will be built”.

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