Donald Trump revealed that he didn't want to be "disrespectful" to Russian President Vladimir Putin by calling him in front of European Union leaders.
During a Tuesday interview on Fox & Friends, host Charlie Hurt asked the U.S. president about reports that he had interrupted a meeting with European leaders about Ukraine to speak to Putin by phone.
"Well, I think they expected it," he said of his guests from the EU. "I didn't do it in front of them. I thought that would be disrespectful to President Putin."
"I wouldn't do that because they have not had the warmest relations. And actually, President Putin wouldn't talk to the people from Europe," he continued. "It was years that he didn't speak to anybody from the White House. And it was a long time that he didn't speak to anybody from Europe. No, it's a fractured relationship.
"And when I came in, I always had, despite the Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, which truly was a very dangerous thing for our country. But despite that, I maintained a very good relationship."
Trump insisted that his fondness for Putin was apparent during their recent meeting in Alaska.
"I mean, you saw that when he got off his plane, I got off my plane," he said. "There's a warmth there that you can't — you know, there's a decent feeling. And it's a good thing, not a bad thing."
Watch the video below from Fox News.