Vladimir Putin ally tells Americans 'vote for Donald Trump or face nuclear war'

Americans should vote for Donald Trump as president next month or risk being dragged into a nuclear war, according to an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin .

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a flamboyant veteran lawmaker known for his fiery rhetoric, told Reuters Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington.

By contrast, Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton could spark World War Three, said Zhirinovsky.

Many Russians regard Zhirinovsky as a clownish figure who makes outspoken statements to grab attention.

But he is also widely viewed as a faithful servant of Kremlin policy, sometimes used to float radical opinions to test public reaction."

He received a top state award from Putin after his pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) came third in Russia's parliamentary election last month.

"Relations between Russia and the United States can't get any worse," he said.

"The only way they can get worse is if a war starts," said Zhirinovsky, speaking in his huge office on the 10th floor of Russia's State Duma, or lower house of parliament.

"Americans voting for a president on November 8 must realise that they are voting for peace on Planet Earth if they vote for Trump.

"But if they vote for Hillary it's war. It will be a short movie. There will be Hiroshimas and Nagasakis everywhere."

Zhirinovsky's comments coincide with deep disagreements between Washington and Moscow over Syria and Ukraine and after the White House last week accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organisations.

Even as WikiLeaks released another trove of internal documents from Clinton's campaign on Wednesday, Putin insisted his country was not involved in an effort to influence the U.S. presidential election.

Zhirinovsky likes to shock liberal public opinion and he has frequently heaped scorn on the West, which he and other Russian nationalists claim is decadent, hypocritical and corrupted by political correctness.

His combative style, reminiscent of Trump's, ensures him plenty of television air time and millions of votes in Russian elections, often from the kind of blue-collar workers who are the bedrock of the US Republican candidate's support.

Zhirinovsky once proposed blocking off mostly Muslim southern Russia with a barbed wire fence, echoing Trump's call for a wall along the US border with Mexico.

Zhirinovsky, who said he met Trump in New York in 2002, revels in his similarities with the American businessman - they are the same age, favour coarse, sometimes misogynistic language and boast about putting their own country first.

Zhirinovsky has even said he wants a DNA test to see if he is related to Trump.

But unlike Trump, a billionaire real estate developer who casts himself as the anti-establishment candidate in the US presidential race with no past political experience, Zhirinovsky is a consummate political insider who has sat in the Duma for more than two decades.

Putin has also praised Trump as "very talented", while the Republican candidate has said the Kremlin boss is a better leader than US President Barack Obama.

source  Mirror uk. to read more