Nigel Farage defends Putin from royal ‘Hitler’ attack
Nigel Farage has come to the defence of Vladimir Putin for the second time after Prince Charles allegedly compared the Russian president to Hitler.
Charles reportedly told a woman who had lost relatives in the Holocaust that Putin was 'doing just about the same as Hitler' in Ukraine.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage quickly rushed to the defence of the Russian leader, saying that Charles should keep out of foreign affairs.
"There are times when it might be better for Prince Charles not to get involved in things like this," Farage told the BBC.
He said it was wrong to compare Putin to Hitler.
"Prince Charles has made those comments. I know some people feel that way about Putin. I think there’s a difference and the difference, I think, is that right from the very start Hitler was expansionist and we haven’t seen much evidence of that until now from Putin.
"And arguably what’s happened in the Ukraine is because he’s been poked with a stick by the rest of the world.
"All I want to say is this: I think the EU pursuing an expansionist foreign policy and saying to the Ukraine: ‘we want you to join our political union, oh, and why not join Nato too?’ That’s not exactly helped things in the region."
The Ukip leader has previously spoken of his admiration of the Russian president.
Asked which world leader he most admires, Farage replied "As an operator, but not as a human being, I would say Putin.
"The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant."
Farage has also been a repeated critic of Prince Charles, accusing him of "scaremongering" over climate change.
"It is not certain that CO2 is leading to global warming," Farage said in 2011.
"It is certain that the measures we are taking against it are expensive and flawed – especially wind turbines.
"The Royal Family will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of wind farms," he added.
The prince was on a visit to the Canadian Museum of Immigration when he allegedly made the comments about Putin.
The latest controversy comes as polls show that Ukip remains on course for a remarkably close victory in the European elections.
Today's YouGov poll found the party is now level pegging with Labour on 27% of the vote, with the Tories in third place on 23%.
Recent European election polls have varied wildly with some showing Ukip with a clear lead, while others have shown Labour and even the Tories ahead.
