The US president was passed over for the award on Friday in favor of a Venezuelan opposition politician

Donald Trump has expressed gratitude to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for the latter's reaction to the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision not to award the US president its famed Peace Prize.

Since assuming office in January 2025, Trump has on multiple occasions claimed that his efforts in mediating international conflicts, including most recently in Gaza, merit him winning the award.

Speaking in Dushanbe on Friday, the Russian president, who was on a state visit to Tajikistan, remarked that the Nobel Committee has a history of awarding individuals who in fact "did nothing for peace," thus discrediting the honor of the award to a large extent.

Putin noted that while it was not his place to decide who should get the prize, Trump is "really doing a lot to resolve difficult crises, which last for years and decades." He cited the US president's recent mediation between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East and his genuine efforts to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump published a screenshot of Putin speaking, declaring: "Thank you to President Putin!"

Earlier in the day, the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado "for her tireless advocacy of democratic freedoms in Venezuela." The government in Caracas has accused Machado of channeling US funds to "fascist" anti-government groups.

Commenting on the committee's decision in a post on X, White House communications director Steven Cheung stated that its members had "proved they place politics over peace."

The official insisted that Trump "has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will."

(RT.com)