Putin surprisingly speaks English at the Alaska summit

Putin surprisingly speaks English at the Alaska summit

The last words of Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Alaska summit were spoken with a smile and in an unusual outbreak of English. "And next time in Moscow," said Putin-a translation was not necessary-in response to US President Donald Trump, who indicated that they would see each other again very soon.

Putin's language skills and diplomacy

Putin is known for occasionally making loose remarks and courtesy in foreign languages ​​at international encounters. At the end of the summit with Trump, the Russian president thanked in English, although the meeting ended without an agreement to terminate the war in Ukraine.

Typically, however, the Russian guide - a former Soviet secret service employee - uses translators in order not to speak English himself during diplomatic conversations. It is known that Putin speaks German fluently, which is due to his time during the Cold War when he was stationed in Dresden, the then East Germany. As is well known, Putin and former Chancellor Angela Merkel communicated in German during her meeting.

Putin's knowledge of English

According to the Kremlin, Putin also speaks English well. According to the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, he was able to understand Trump's statements before his interpreter transmitted the translation. This indicates that he was probably able to understand his US colleagues when they briefly drove together to Trump's presidential sedan after they had arrived in Alaska.

As early as 2017, the Kremlin said that Putin understands English "almost completely" and even corrected the interpreter, as the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported. Peskov added that Putin "often speaks English when he is on the go, but of course communicates through interpreters during official negotiations and meetings." This procedure opens up scope for managers for maneuvering.

Critical questions and public appearances

Before the conversations with Trump, Putin did not seem to understand or hear the unpleasant questions that were asked in English by journalists about the war; He ignored her and instead showed confused facial expressions. When he was asked whether he would "stop killing civilians", Putin seemed to signal that he did not hear the question.

There are some examples in which the Russian leader demonstrated his language skills outside of negotiation rooms. In 2008 he gave CNN an exclusive interview about the conflict in Georgia, in which he sometimes spoke English. In 2013 he gave a very long speech in English to announce Russia's application to organize the 2020 world exhibition in Jekaterinburg and said: "It will be a national priority project."

A unique appearance and friendly conversations

In one of the best -known demonstrations of his English skills, he sang "Blueberry Hill" at a charity gala in St. Petersburg, even if he stumbled across a few words. Among the spectators were famous Hollywood stars such as Kevin Costner and Goldie Hawn. At a video conference at the beginning of the year, he spoke fluently German with a German who asked for Russian citizenship, and easily talked about his time in East Germany, which made other participants smile.

On Friday, Trump quickly reacted to Putin's invitation to further discussions in Moscow and said: "Oh, that's an interesting offer. I don't know, I could get a little criticism for it, but I can imagine it. Thank you very much, Vladimir."