Trump On 'Very Nice' Letter From Putin: 'His Thoughts Are So Correct'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) -- President-elect Donald Trump says he has received a "very nice" letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A translation of the December 15 letter was provided by the Trump team.

Putin begins the letter wishing Trump his "warmest Christmas and New Year greetings."

The letter continues on to say, "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 of the modern world."

"I hope that after you assume the position of the President of the United States of America we will be able - by acting 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," Putin writes.

The letter finishes by wishing Trump and his family "sound health, happiness, wellbeing, success and all of the best."

Trump says of Putin's letter, "His thoughts are so correct. I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path."

The release of the letter comes days after a Kremlin spokesperson publicly criticized its poor relationship with the outgoing Obama administration. "Nearly all levels of our dialogue (with the US) has been frozen," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview Wednesday with Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

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