Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's administration and said the Democratic Party should blame itself for Hillary Clinton's loss to Republican Donald Trump in the U.S. election.
In a wide-ranging annual press conference that included ample attention to U.S. politics and the accusations of Russian interference, Putin said that Moscow's ties with the United States "can't get any worse" and voiced hope that they will improve.
Speaking to some 1,500 Russian and foreign journalists close to the end of the nearly four-hour marathon on December 23, Putin cited Trump as saying during his campaign that relations cannot get worse, and added that he agrees with that.
"Together we will think about how to make them better," Putin said.
He asserted that Obama's administration "divides" the United States and said the U.S. "Democratic Party blames others for its own failures."
The U.S. intelligence community said in October it had concluded that hackers directed by the Russian government intruded into Democratic Party servers and e-mail accounts, and The Washington Post reported last week that the FBI shared the CIA's conclusions that Russian hackers intervened to help Trump beat Clinton in the November 8 vote.
Putin seemed to mock those findings, saying that "
He repeated what he has said before: that what matters is not who did the hacking but the content that was revealed.
"Regarding the idea that Russian hackers hacked the Democratic Party's electronic mail, I think...Trump answered that in a very good way. He said, 'How would we know that it was Russia that hacked it? Maybe it was some other country or maybe someone lying on a sofa did it,'" Putin said.
"Well, the issue is not who did it but what was revealed by those hackers," he said. "They revealed the ways the Democratic Party was manipulating public opinion while choosing its candidate. ... And after the data was released, the chief of the Democratic Party's election committee resigned. That proves the fact that the data was true. That is what is most important -- not who did it."
Putin also asserted that Obama's administration has lost touch with average Americans and that many Americans share his views on the threats facing the world and approve of Russia's support for "traditional values."
Putin followed tradition by starting the press conference with upbeat comments on the economy and demographics, saying that the persistent contraction of Russia's recession-plagued economy is slowing and that capital flight is decreasing.
He said that Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to decline by 0.5 to 0.6 percent in 2016 -- far less than in 2015 -- while inflation is forecast at a "record low" 5.5 percent, and a "small increase" in real wages in recent months "instills confidence in the future."
In a year marked by scandals, Putin flatly denied that Russia has ever had a state-organized doping system for sports. He said that Russia, "like any country," has problems with doping and promised to tackle them.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on December 23 that 28 Russian athletes who took part in the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi face disciplinary proceedings over possible manipulation of their urine samples.
The step by the IOC comes after a World Anti-Doping Agency report released this month said that more than 1,000 Russian competitors in more than 30 sports were involved in a conspiracy to conceal positive drug tests over the course of five years.
Putin repeated frequent criticism of the United States for building a missile-defense system in Europe and also repeated his statement from a day earlier that Russia's military is stronger than any "potential aggressor."
He repeated frequent criticism of the United States for building a missile-defense system in Europe and also repeated his statement from a day earlier that Russia's military is stronger than any "potential aggressor."
But he hinted that he was not including the United States as a potential aggressor, even though he has frequently portrayed the United States and NATO as posing potential threats to Russia's security.
"The Russian Federation today is stronger than any potential -- listen carefully -- aggressor. This is very important. I did not say this by accident yesterday," he said. "What is an aggressor? It is someone who can potentially launch an attack against the Russian Federation."
Speaking after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces captured the eastern part of the city of Aleppo from rebels in a devastating Russian-backed campaign, Putin said he believes "it is necessary to start talks on a cease-fire across Syria and then start real steps towards the political resolution of the situation."
In a wide-ranging annual press conference that included ample attention to U.S. politics and the accusations of Russian interference, Putin said that Moscow's ties with the United States "can't get any worse" and voiced hope that they will improve.
Speaking to some 1,500 Russian and foreign journalists close to the end of the nearly four-hour marathon on December 23, Putin cited Trump as saying during his campaign that relations cannot get worse, and added that he agrees with that.
"Together we will think about how to make them better," Putin said.
He asserted that Obama's administration "divides" the United States and said the U.S. "Democratic Party blames others for its own failures."
The U.S. intelligence community said in October it had concluded that hackers directed by the Russian government intruded into Democratic Party servers and e-mail accounts, and The Washington Post reported last week that the FBI shared the CIA's conclusions that Russian hackers intervened to help Trump beat Clinton in the November 8 vote.
Putin seemed to mock those findings, saying that "
"
He repeated what he has said before: that what matters is not who did the hacking but the content that was revealed.
"Regarding the idea that Russian hackers hacked the Democratic Party's electronic mail, I think...Trump answered that in a very good way. He said, 'How would we know that it was Russia that hacked it? Maybe it was some other country or maybe someone lying on a sofa did it,'" Putin said.
"Well, the issue is not who did it but what was revealed by those hackers," he said. "They revealed the ways the Democratic Party was manipulating public opinion while choosing its candidate. ... And after the data was released, the chief of the Democratic Party's election committee resigned. That proves the fact that the data was true. That is what is most important -- not who did it."
Putin also asserted that Obama's administration has lost touch with average Americans and that many Americans share his views on the threats facing the world and approve of Russia's support for "traditional values."
Putin followed tradition by starting the press conference with upbeat comments on the economy and demographics, saying that the persistent contraction of Russia's recession-plagued economy is slowing and that capital flight is decreasing.
He said that Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to decline by 0.5 to 0.6 percent in 2016 -- far less than in 2015 -- while inflation is forecast at a "record low" 5.5 percent, and a "small increase" in real wages in recent months "instills confidence in the future."
In a year marked by scandals, Putin flatly denied that Russia has ever had a state-organized doping system for sports. He said that Russia, "like any country," has problems with doping and promised to tackle them.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on December 23 that 28 Russian athletes who took part in the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi face disciplinary proceedings over possible manipulation of their urine samples.
The step by the IOC comes after a World Anti-Doping Agency report released this month said that more than 1,000 Russian competitors in more than 30 sports were involved in a conspiracy to conceal positive drug tests over the course of five years.
Putin repeated frequent criticism of the United States for building a missile-defense system in Europe and also repeated his statement from a day earlier that Russia's military is stronger than any "potential aggressor."
He repeated frequent criticism of the United States for building a missile-defense system in Europe and also repeated his statement from a day earlier that Russia's military is stronger than any "potential aggressor."
But he hinted that he was not including the United States as a potential aggressor, even though he has frequently portrayed the United States and NATO as posing potential threats to Russia's security.
"The Russian Federation today is stronger than any potential -- listen carefully -- aggressor. This is very important. I did not say this by accident yesterday," he said. "What is an aggressor? It is someone who can potentially launch an attack against the Russian Federation."
Speaking after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces captured the eastern part of the city of Aleppo from rebels in a devastating Russian-backed campaign, Putin said he believes "it is necessary to start talks on a cease-fire across Syria and then start real steps towards the political resolution of the situation."