Story highlights The Trump transition released a letter sent to President-elect Donald Trump from Russian president Vladimir Putin

The letter offered Christmas and New Year's wishes and urged a better relationship between the US and Russia

(CNN) President-elect Donald Trump on Friday shared a letter he received from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who urged the next president "to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation" while offering Trump his "warmest Christmas and New Year greetings."

"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."

In the translation of the December 15th letter provided by the Trump team, Putin wrote that "serious global and regional challenges, which our countries have had to face in recent years, show that relations between Russia and the US remain an important factor in ensuring stability and security of the modern world."

Putin continued, "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."

The release of the letter -- which was confirmed as authentic by Moscow -- comes days after Russia loudly voiced complaints about its relationship with the US under the Obama administration, and after ambiguous remarks from Trump about the need to "strengthen and expand" US nuclear capability to counter nuclear adversaries.

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