US President Donald Trump has refused to call Vladimir Putin a "dictator", saying it is a word he does not use lightly.
Trump was asked by reporters at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron whether he would call Putin a "dictator" like he did with Volodymyr Zelensky. He evaded the answer.
Trump did not spare jokes with Macron, calling him "a smart customer."
"Macron is a smart client. He would tell me all these things and I would say, 'yes, yes, yes.' When they showed me the letters, I said, 'yes, we didn't talk about these things.' He's a smart client," Trump said.
"Would you call Putin a dictator, like you did with Zelensky?" the journalist asked.
"I don't use those words lightly, we'll see how things go. We're close to finding a solution," Trump responded.