Vladimir Putin has said hackers from the US could have been behind the attacks that targeted America's presidential election last year.

In an interview with NBC News, the Russian president tried to shift the blame away from Moscow after he was asked to explain his earlier claim that private "patriotic" hackers could have interfered with the election.

"Hackers can be anywhere. They can be in Russia, in Asia...even in America, Latin America," he said.

"They can even be hackers, by the way, in the United States who very skillfully and professionally shifted the blame, as we say, onto Russia. Can you imagine something like that? In the midst of a political battle?"

"By some calculations it was convenient for them to release this information, so they released it, citing Russia," Mr Putin added. "Could you imagine something like that? I can."

US intelligence agencies have concluded the Russian government sought to influence the US election in Mr Trump's favour through cyber attacks and propaganda, a charge Russia has denied.