MOSCOW (AP) – The Latest on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s end-of-year press conference (all times local):
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1:40 p.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says U.S. Democrats should have apologized to American voters over the information revealed by hackers who posted Democratic National Committee e-mails.
Responding to accusations of Russian meddling in the U.S. election, Putin said at an annual news conference Friday that the hackers could have been located anywhere. He shrugged off Washington’s claims of their Russian affiliation.
Asked how he responded to President Barack Obama’s hacking accusations brought up in their conversation, the Russian leader said he never makes confidential conversations public.
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1:35 p.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is praising U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for keenly feeling American voters’ mood to win the election, and he rejects the White House’s accusations of meddling in the vote.
Speaking at an annual news conference, Putin said Friday that Russia hopes to develop “businesslike and constructive relations that would benefit both Russia and the United States.”
In response to President Barack Obama, who said “Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave” upon seeing recent poll results showing that more than one-third of Republicans view Putin favorably, Putin said Reagan would be happy to see his party win.
Putin also criticized the U.S. administration for trying to shift the blame for Hillary Clinton’s defeat by making claims of Russian interference.
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1:30 p.m.
President Vladimir Putin says he sees “nothing unusual” in Donald Trump’s pledge to strengthen the U.S. nuclear forces, calling the statement is in line with the U.S. president-elect’s campaign promises.
Speaking at an annual news conference Friday, Putin also said Russia’s military is stronger than that of any potential aggressor, though he admitted that the U.S. has a bigger military.
“Indeed, they have more missiles, more submarines and more aircraft carriers, we aren’t arguing with that, but we are simply stronger than any aggressor.”
Putin says the Russian military modernization helped strengthen the nation’s nuclear forces.
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1:15 p.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the nation’s economy is on the path to recovery.
Speaking at an annual end-of-year news conference Friday, Putin said the Russian economy is expected to shrink by 0.6-0.7 percent this year – a much smaller decline compared to 2015 when it contracted by 3.7 percent.
Russia is enduring a deep recession in the wake of Western sanctions and the sharp drop in oil prices.
Putin said some sectors have posted growth this year, showing that the Russian economy is on the mend.
Despite the economic backdrop, Putin said hard currency reserves of the Russian Central Bank increased this year, from $368 billion to about $385 billion.