Putin: Democrats 'need to learn to lose with dignity

Russian President Vladi­mir Putin during his annual news conference Friday denied allegations that he interfered in the U.S. presidential election in order to help elect Donald Trump, according to the Washington Post.

“Democrats are losing on every front and looking for people to blame everywhere,” Putin said in response to question from a Russian TV host. “They need to learn to lose with dignity.”

Noting that Republicans won down-ballot House and Senate races, Putin asked, “Did we do that, too?”

The Post reported that the Russian president seemingly implied that he knew Trump would win:

“Trump understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him,” Putin said, adding with a grin. “Except for you and me.”

Asked about allegations that Russia was behind the release of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails, Putin said, “It's not important who did the hacking. It's important that the information that was revealed was true, that is important.”

The Post noted that Putin has given one news conference a year for the 12 years he’s been president.

According to a transcript of his remarks published by the Kremlin, Putin, a former member of the Soviet KGB also speculated that former President Ronald Reagan “would welcome the victory of the newly elected President so adept at catching the public mood.”

On Friday, Trump released a letter Putin sent him containing Christmas and New Year’s greetings.

Putin urged Trump "to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation" between their countries once he is president.

"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."