"A
very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct,"
Trump said in a statement. "I hope both sides are able to live up to
these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path."
In the translation of the
December 15th letter
provided by the Trump team, Putin wrote that "serious global and
regional challenges, which our countries have had to face in recent
years, show that relations between Russia and the US remain an important
factor in ensuring stability and security of the modern world."
Putin
continued, "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."
The release of the
letter -- which was confirmed as authentic by Moscow -- comes days after
Russia loudly voiced complaints about its relationship with the US
under the Obama administration, and after ambiguous remarks from Trump
about the need to "strengthen and expand" US nuclear capability to
counter nuclear adversaries.
At his annual year-end news conference on Thursday,
Putin said that the US and Russia "need to discuss ways to normalize
our relations. During his election campaign, Trump said it would be
proper to normalize and it can't be worse, and I agree with him."
A Kremlin spokesperson criticized the poor relationship with the Obama administration in an interview Wednesday.
"Nearly all levels of our dialogue (with the US) has been frozen," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
told Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
US State Department spokesperson John Kirby pushed back on Peskov's
assessment, saying Thursday that "diplomatic engagement with Russia
continues across a wide range of issues."
Still,
the sharp rhetoric from each side stems from serious disagreements over
crises in Syria and Ukraine, and allegations by the US against Russia
of covertly interfering in the 2016 election by hacking -- to the
advantage of Trump, according to the intelligence community.
Adding
to the tension is Trump's cavalier dismissal of nuclear proliferation
concerns -- he reportedly told MSNBC on Friday, "let it be an arms
race." And incoming new White House press secretary Sean Spicer added to
Trump's comments by saying on CNN, "If another country or countries
want to threaten our safety, our sovereignty, [Trump's] going to do what
it takes."
Putin continued, "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."The release of the letter -- which was confirmed as authentic by Moscow -- comes days after Russia loudly voiced complaints about its relationship with the US under the Obama administration, and after ambiguous remarks from Trump about the need to "strengthen and expand" US nuclear capability to counter nuclear adversaries.At his annual year-end news conference on Thursday, Putin said that the US and Russia "need to discuss ways to normalize our relations. During his election campaign, Trump said it would be proper to normalize and it can't be worse, and I agree with him."A Kremlin spokesperson criticized the poor relationship with the Obama administration in an interview Wednesday."Nearly all levels of our dialogue (with the US) has been frozen," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti. US State Department spokesperson John Kirby pushed back on Peskov's assessment, saying Thursday that "diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues."Still, the sharp rhetoric from each side stems from serious disagreements over crises in Syria and Ukraine, and allegations by the US against Russia of covertly interfering in the 2016 election by hacking -- to the advantage of Trump, according to the intelligence community.Adding to the tension is Trump's cavalier dismissal of nuclear proliferation concerns -- he reportedly told MSNBC on Friday, "let it be an arms race." And incoming new White House press secretary Sean Spicer added to Trump's comments by saying on CNN, "If another country or countries want to threaten our safety, our sovereignty, [Trump's] going to do what it takes."
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