Newt Gingrich commended rival Mitt Romney for agreeing to release his tax returns, and said it should put the issue to the side in the Republican nomination fight.

“I think that’s a very good thing he’s doing,” Gingrich said on NBC’s Meet the Press of Romney’s decision to release his 2010 returns on Tuesday. “And I commend him for it and I think it’s exactly the right thing to do. And I think as far as I’m concerned, that particular issue is now set to the side and we can now go on and talk about other bigger and more important things.”