WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Trump said that the thoughts expressed by Putin in the letter "are so correct."
"A very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct. I hope both sides [United States and Russia] are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path," Trump said in a statement published by the Presidential Transition Team Communications team.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also commented on the issue, saying that Putin sent Trump a letter with season's greetings and expressing hope that the two countries would repair ties.
"Putin did send Trump a congratulatory message on the occasion of Christmas and New Year, in which the Russian president also expressed hope for the normalization of bilateral relations," Peskov told RIA Novosti.
Putin expressed hope for restoring the US-Russia cooperation and taking it to a new level in his letter to US President-elect Donald Trump, released by Trump transition team on Friday.
"I hope that after you assume the position of the President of the United States of America we will be able – by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner – to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level," according to an unofficial translation of the letter.
Earlier in the day, Putin said during his annual year-end news conference that he agreed with Trump that Moscow-Washington ties are currently at their lowest level and it was necessary to take steps for their normalization.
He also said that he wants to visit the US if receive an invitation from Trump. He said that he expected Moscow to improve its relations with the US administration next year, including on security and economy.
