Vladimir Putin, pictured today at his press conference in Moscow. He has boasted he always knew Donald Trump would win the US election

Vladimir Putin has boasted that he knew Donald Trump would win the US election but shrugged off knowing who hacked Hillary Clinton's emails.

The Russian leader has been giving his annual end of year press conference in Moscow, where he reflected on the events of 2016.

During the event, he was asked by a journalist from state media about Trump being elected to the White House.

And he claimed that he always knew that the billionaire would win the presidency ahead of his rival Clinton.

He told reporters: 'Certainly only we knew that he was going to win. No-one else did.

'He precisely felt the mood of the society and... went to the end, though nobody believed that he would win except us.'

Asked what he thought about support among some Americans for him, Putin said: 'I don't put it down to me, the fact that a large part of Republican voters support the Russian president.

'It means that a large part of the American people have the same idea of how the world should be, of our common dangers and problems.

'It's good that there are people that sympathise with us in our concept of traditional values.'

The Russian leader has been giving his annual end of year press conference in Moscow, where he reflected on the events of 2016

Some of the journalists hold up their hands wanting to ask Putin a question at the press conference

Putin also added he wanted to have a 'constructive relationship' with Trump but criticised the current administration saying Ronald Reagan would 'roll over in his grave' upon seeing recent poll results showing that more than one-third of Republicans view Putin favorably.

The Russian leader was also asked about the hacking of Hillary Clinton's emails in the run-up to the election, which has been attributed to Russian hackers.

However, he said 'who knows' when asked who hacked the emails adding that the US administration was trying to shift blame for Hillary Clinton's defeat by making claims of Russian interference.

A journalist holds a poster with portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, France's far-right National Front president Marine Le Pen, centre, and President-elect Donald Trump prior to the news conference

Asked what he thought about support among some Americans for him, Putin said: 'I don't put it down to me, the fact that a large part of Republican voters support the Russian president'

Putin added: 'Losers always look for ways to accuse someone else. The always forget the most important thing. Let's say some hackers hacked Democratic emails. As Trump said: 'Who knows who did it?''

'They are losing on all fronts and are looking for the guilty party on the side. That's beneath their dignity. You have to lose with dignity.'

He also suggested that the hackers behind the massive breach of Democratic Party emails did a public service by exposing 'true information' which is more important than the nature of the hack.

He explained: 'The most important thing is the gist of the information that hackers provided to the public.

Putin said he always knew that Trump, left, would win the election ahead of his rival Hillary Clinton, right

'What is the best evidence that the hackers unveiled true information?' he said. 'That after the hackers showed how public opinion is manipulated inside the Democratic Party... the chief of the Democratic National Committee (Debbie Wasserman Schultz) quit.'

'That means she admitted that the hackers showed the truth,' he said, but 'instead of apologising... they started to shout about who initiated the hack attacks.'

'Does that really matter?' Putin asked.

Relations between Russia and the US have deteriorated recently following disagreements over the Ukraine crisis, NATO and the Syrian civil war.