A senior Kremlin lawmaker and Vladimir Putin ally said in an interview that it would be “a gift to humanity” if Donald Trump were to be elected president of the United States. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the flamboyant leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), A senior Kremlin lawmaker and Vladimir Putin ally said in an interview that it would be “a gift to humanity” if Donald Trump were to be elected president of the United States. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the flamboyant leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), told Reuters that Trump is the “candidate for peace” and the best choice to ease tensions between Moscow and Washington.

“Americans voting for a president on Nov. 8 must realize that they are voting for peace on planet Earth if they vote for Trump. But if they vote for Hillary it’s war,” said Zhirinovsky (translated) in the interview.

The Putin ally also said: “Trump will have a brilliant chance to make relations more peaceful, to start talks, to take positive decisions on Syria, on Ukraine, on NATO, on disarming and plutonium. He is the only one who can do this.”

Screengrab of Zhirinovsky from Reuters