VLADIMIR PUTIN: “Well, he’s [Vladimir Putin’ a competitor. He’s been very nice to me the times I’ve met him. I’ve been nice to him. He’s a competitor. You know, somebody was saying, “Is he an enemy?” No, he’s not my enemy. “Is he a friend?” No, I don’t know him well enough. But the couple of times that I’ve gotten to meet him, we got along very well. You saw that.
I hope we get along well. I think we get along well. But ultimately, he’s a competitor. He’s representing Russia. I’m representing the United States. So in a sense, we’re competitors. Not a question of friend or enemy. He’s not my enemy. And hopefully, someday, maybe he’ll be a friend. It could happen. But I — I just don’t know him very well. I’ve met him a couple of times. And when I did meet him, most of you people were there.”
-Donald Trump, “Remarks by President Trump at Press Conference After NATO Summit | Brussels, Belgium,” whitehouse.gov, July 12, 2018