Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday expressed support for those who hacked the US Democratic Party for "exposing the truth". The best evidence that the hackers exposed worthwhile information is that the Democratic National Committee's chairwoman quickly resigned in July because of allegations based on the hacked information, Putin told his annual press conference, dpa reported. The US government has said Russia was responsible for the hacking and President Barack Obama suggested last week that Putin himself was directly involved in the effort that intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded was aimed at helping Republican Donald Trump as well as undermining faith in the US political system. Some of the emails allegedly showed Democratic officials seeking to undermine former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's main rival, Bernie Sanders, in the race to become the party's candidate for president. The revelations led chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down. The revelations and others from the emails were a boon for Trump, who went on to win the election. Putin, who has publicly complimented Trump and said he looks forward to renewed constructive dialogue with the US, emphasized on Friday that whether the hackers were Russian is not as important as what they allegedly exposed. Putin said he would be happy to go to the United States if Trump invites him. The Russian leader shrugged off Trump's recent remark that the US should expand its nuclear capabilities, with Putin saying the major powers should avoid an arms race. Putin called for the US and Russia to work together to combat terrorism, especially in war-torn Syria. Separately, Putin sent a Christmas letter to Trump seeking closer cooperation.
