Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images(ST. PETERSBURG, Russia) — Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to come to the defense of President Trump on Friday over his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.
Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Russia, said that although he thinks it would have been better for the U.S. to try to change the agreement rather than leave it, he isn’t rushing to condemn Trump for his decision.
Responding to a reporter’s question onstage at the forum in St. Petersburg, Putin also downplayed the significance of the U.S. withdrawal from the accord given that the agreement is not binding.
Putin suggested there will perhaps still be time to renegotiate the deal so that the U.S. will decide to remain.
“It’s not even come into force yet. It should come into force in 2021. So we still have time. If we work constructively, we still have time,” said the Russian president who then, switching to English, quoted a popular song, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Russia is a signatory of the Paris Agreement, and the Kremlin said this week it would remain in the accord.
Putin said he “wouldn’t start to condemn President Trump” over the decision, adding that perhaps Trump thought agreements by former President Barack Obama “hadn’t been totally thought through.”
The Russian leader stressed that because the Paris accord is nonbinding, it depends upon countries taking their own actions. Without U.S. participation, he added, it will be impossible in any case for the agreement to achieve its aims for combating climate change.
Putin said he believes, based on Trump’s comments, that the U.S. president still wants to address the issue of climate change.
Trump announced Thursday the U.S. would withdraw from the agreement but will immediately begin negotiating to either re-enter the deal or establish a new one.
“We are getting out, but we are starting to negotiate and we’ll see if we can make a deal that’s fair,” Trump said at the White House.
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