Moscow’s former mayor Yury Luzhkov has revealed that in the 1990’s, he held talks with Donald Trump about building a “sprawling” underground mall near the Russian State Duma.
The Moscow Times reported that Luzhkov, in an interview published with the Interfax news agency earlier on Tuesday, said Trump had “one or two” contacts with Vladimir Resin, a current Duma member who was then first deputy mayor, about the proposed project.
“[Trump] planned to take part in the mall’s construction,” the ex-mayor told Interfax. “There were intentions… but the matter didn’t go further.”
Resin spoke to Trump and other American real estate moguls in 1995 — and the conversations were broadcast on Russian state television.
“Trump also traveled to Moscow in November 1996, where he announced plans to invest some $250 million in several building projects, including a high-rise tower just north of [the upscale shopping center] Okhotny Ryad,” the report noted.
First Deputy Mayor Resin, the Moscow Times noted, was appointed acting mayor of Moscow in 2010 after Luzhkov was “reportedly fired for poorly managing Moscow and fostering ‘exorbitant corruption’ during his reign.”
