Trump thanks Putin for Christmas letter, offers to restore relations

Miami: US President-elect Donald Trump thanked Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the "very nice" Christmas letter in which the latter expressed his wishes "to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation".

In a statement released on Friday, Trump thanked Putin for the Christmas greeting and said the thoughts expressed in the letter are "so correct", Efe reported. "I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path," said Trump, who is spending the holidays in Palm Beach, Florida.

In the letter, Putin noted the importance of "restoring" bilateral relations, considering the "serious global and regional challenges, which our countries have to face in recent years". "I hope that after you assume the position of 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," Putin's letter said.

The publication of this letter came after the Kremlin had criticized the poor relations between Moscow and Washington during the presidency of Barack Obama. Putin's words reflected the harmony between the two leaders, who have mutually praised each other in recent months. Added to this is Trump's decision to name Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State, who is up to now Chairman and CEO of oil giant ExxonMobil with known ties to Moscow.