Former US President Donald Trump has called Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that it would be better for Russia if Joe Biden won the US election a "compliment".

"President Putin of Russia has just given me a great compliment, actually. He's just said that he would much rather have Joe Biden as president than Trump. Now, that's a compliment. A lot of people said, 'Oh, gee, that's too bad.' No, no, that's a good thing," Newsweek cites Trump at a rally in South Carolina.

Trump said that it is not surprising that Putin would like to see Biden in the White House.

Trump pointed out that during his presidency, he imposed sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, but the Biden administration lifted those sanctions in May 2021.

Vladimir Putin said that Joe Biden, not Donald Trump, would be a better president as far as relations with Russia are concerned.

Bloomberg reported that Trump, if he wins the next presidential election, is going to "reduce commitments" to some NATO members and plans to push Ukraine and Russia to negotiate.