Trump receives letter from Putin, says his thoughts on Russia-U.S. ties "so correct"

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Friday he has received a Christmas letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin and his thoughts on promoting bilateral ties were "so correct."

"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 Dec. 15 letter provided by Trump's transition team, Putin wrote that "serious global and regional challenges, which our countries have to face in recent years, show that the relations between Russia and the U.S. remain an important factor in ensuring stability and security in the modern world."

Putin also urged the two sides to act "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 the Kremlin, comes a day after Putin said Russia and the United States need to find ways to normalize relations at his annual year-end news conference.

Trump said during his election campaign that it would be proper to normalize Russia-U.S. ties, Putin said, "and I agree with him." Endi