MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced hope on Friday that frayed relations with the US will improve once Donald Trump becomes president despite his pledge to strengthen the US’s nuclear arsenal.

Speaking during a marathon end-of-year news conference that lasted the best part of four hours, Putin heaped praise on the president-elect while downplaying any concerns stemming from Trump’s support for a strengthened US nuclear capability.

Putin also used the opportunity offered by the press conference to lambast Trump’s rivals in the Democratic Party for seeking to blame their defeat in November’s election to hacking accusations against Moscow.

“They are losing on all fronts, and are trying to find the culprits elsewhere,” he said. “They are humiliating themselves. They must know how to lose with dignity.”

Asked how he responded to President Barack Obama’s hacking accusations during a conversation shortly before the vote that Russia was involved in the hacking of Democratic Party officials’ emails, Putin said he wouldn’t divulge details of a confidential talk.

Published in Dawn December 24th, 2016