As Sunday night's Democratic Debate turned to foreign policy, Hillary Clinton was pushed on her relationship with Vladimir Putin and how she would improve the United States' diplomatic ties with Russia.

NBC moderator Lester Holt asked Clinton to explain her relationship with Putin, she smiled and paused before saying, "It's... interesting."

Referring to the 2009 "reset" agreement with Russia, Clinton said she would consider it again depending on "on what I got for it."

“In diplomacy you are always trying to see how you can figure out the interest of the other," Clinton said. She listed some of her accomplishments in dealing with Russia, including the START treaty and Iran sanctions.

Clinton on relationship with Putin: "It's... interesting" pic.twitter.com/41ijLTajZG — Mashable News (@MashableNews) January 18, 2016

In 2011, Putin accused then-Secretary of State Clinton of inciting protests over parliamentary elections in Russia by expressing concern about the validity of the elections.

“I looked at the first reaction of our U.S. partners,” Mr. Putin said. “The first thing that the secretary of state did was say that they were not honest and not fair, but she had not even yet received the material from the observers.” “She set the tone for some actors in our country and gave them a signal,” Mr. Putin continued. “They heard the signal and with the support of the U.S. State Department began active work.”

Clinton mentioned this in Sunday's debate. "I began speaking out as soon as that happened because there were some fraudulent elections held," she said. "And Russians poured out into the streets to demand their freedom, and he cracked down. And in fact, accused me of fomenting it."

Clinton acknowledged that her relationship with Putin was built partly on "respect" even as she admitted to "tough dealings" with the Russian president and even referred to him as a bully. She said Putin "is somebody who will take as much as he possibly can unless you do."