President-elect Donald Trump said Friday that he agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin's assessment of Hillary Clinton's "humiliating" loss in last month's election and that "one must be able to lose with dignity."
Trump said on Twitter:
The tweet did not disclose the context in which Putin's comments were made, but Trump released a letter Friday that he received from the Russian president on Dec. 15.
Putin's note asked Trump to accept "my warmest Christmas and New Year greetings" and expressed hope that they can "take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation on the international scene to a qualitatively new level."
The Clinton comments were not part of the letter, the full contents of which was published by Heavy.com.
Trump said that he had received "a very nice letter from Vladimir Putin, his thoughts are so correct.
"I hope both sides are able to live up to those thoughts and we do not have to travel an alternative path."
The president-elect also received a congratulatory telegram from Putin the day after his Nov. 8 victory.
During the campaign, Clinton accused Russia of interfering in the presidential election — and U.S. intelligence agencies have disclosed that they have found proof of Kremlin involvement through cyberattacks.
The CIA has concluded a private assessment indicating that Russia meddled to try to sway the election to Trump — and the president-elect has slammed the findings, while Putin has denied any Russian role in the contest.