Thu Dec 17, 2015 AT 10:49 AM EST
At a three-hour annual press conference in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin described Donald Trump as “a very colorful character and talented” and “an absolute leader,” praising the candidate’s talk about building a deeper relationship with Russia, reports Bloomberg. Putin also said his recent talks with US Secretary John Kerry showed that Washington is ready to “move toward settling the issues that can only be settled through joint efforts,” according to AP.