Putin’s words of praise for Trump

Russian leader says he hopes to meet US president-elect

MOSCOW // It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday praised US president- elect Donald Trump while stamping his own authority as the key power broker in Syria.

At his annual year-end press conference, Mr Putin lauded Mr Trump for tapping into the mood of the American electorate to claim his surprise election win.

“He went to the end, although nobody believed that he would win except us,” Mr Putin said. Ties between Moscow and Washington hit their lowest point since the Cold War under president Barack Obama because of Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory and Russia’s military intervention in Syria.

But the election of Mr Trump, who praised Mr Putin as a strong leader, has provided a fillip for the Kremlin as Rus- sia’s economy struggles because of western sanctions and low oil prices.

US officials have accused Russia of cyber attacks aimed at interfering with the US election, with some alleging that Moscow had sought to tip the balance in favour of Mr Trump. Mr Putin backed Mr Trump’s rejection of the allegations, insisting “as the president-elect said entirely correctly, who knows who these hackers were?” He described Mr Obama’s accusations of Russian hacking into Democratic leaders’ emails as an attempt to shift the blame for Hillary Clinton’s election defeat. The Russian leader also sought to play down a potential nuclear stand-off with the future US president, a day after both nations pledged to boost their nuclear capabilities. Mr Putin voiced hope that he would meet soon with Mr Trump to discuss how to improve bilateral relations – and would “definitely” visit the United States should Mr Trump invite him.