Vladimir Putin has praised Donald Trump as "a straightforward person" and claimed the current "Russo-phobic hysteria" in the US was aimed at preventing them working together.

The Russian leader also denied the Kremlin had ever engaged in hacking, but acknowledged some "patriotic" individuals may have carried out cyberattacks.

US intelligence agencies have accused Russia of hacking into and leaking Democratic Party emails, helping Mr Trump to victory in last year's presidential election.

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Congressional and FBI investigations are under way into links between the Kremlin and Mr Trump's campaign.

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The Russian President criticised what he branded "Russo-phobic hysteria" in the US and said it made it "somewhat inconvenient to work with one another or even to talk" and added "someday this will have to stop".

The aim was to "establish an atmosphere that is going to prevent us from addressing common issues, say with regard to terrorism," he claimed.

He said Moscow had been encouraged by Mr Trump's campaign promises to improve Russia-US relations and expressed hope this could still happen.

"We are patient, we know how to wait and we will wait," Mr Putin said.

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The Russian leader hailed Mr Trump as "a straightforward person, a frank person" and said he viewed his US counterpart's lack of political background as beneficial because "he has a fresh set of eyes".

Image: Donald Trump's lack of political background gives him 'a fresh set of eyes', says Mr Putin

Speaking at a meeting with senior editors of leading international news agencies in St Petersburg, Mr Putin denied state involvement in hacking insisting "we never engage in that at the state level".

However, he said it was "theoretically possible" heightened tensions between Moscow and the West could lead some people to launch cyberattacks.

Mr Putin said: "Hackers are free people, just like artists who wake up in the morning in a good mood and start painting.

"The hackers are the same. They would wake up, read about something going on in interstate relations and if they feel patriotic, they may try to contribute to the fight against those who speak badly about Russia."

He also argued hackers could not influence the outcome of elections as public opinion was not that easy to manipulate.