AKIPRESS.COM - Russian President Vladimir Putin offered praise for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump today, telling ABC News, "He's a very colorful person. Talented, without any doubt,” and that he believed Trump was “absolutely the leader in the American presidential race.”

Speaking after his annual marathon news conference, Putin said it wasn’t Russia’s place to determine Trump’s “worthiness” for the presidency, but said he believed Trump wants to “move to a more solid, deeper level of relations” between Russia and the United States.

“How can Russia not welcome that? We welcome that,” Putin told ABC News.

“As for his internal political issues and his turns of speech which he uses to raise his popularity, I repeat, it’s not our job to judge them," Putin said.

Nearly 1,400 journalists packed into a Moscow auditorium to try and put a question to Putin. The event lasted over three hours -- the record is close to five -- and is an occasion for Putin to express himself on Russia’s major foreign policy and domestic issues.

Putin spoke about the many foreign crises in which Russia is entangled, commenting on Syria and Ukraine, as well as again lashing Turkey over its shooting down of a Russian bomber last month.