Donald Trump has again defended his pro-Russian stance, only a day after US intelligence agencies said Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to ensure Mr Trump was elected US President.
Mr Trump says anyone who opposes the US having a "good relationship" with its Cold War rival is "stupid".
"Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing," the President-elect tweeted on Sunday morning (NZ time).
"Only 'stupid' people, or fools, would think that it is bad! We have enough problems around the world without yet another one."
On Saturday (NZ time) US intelligence officials released a report claiming Mr Putin was behind a campaign of influence to ensure Mr Trump defeated Democrat rival Hillary Clinton. Feeding hacked documents that painted Ms Clinton in a bad light to third parties such as WikiLeaks was reportedly part of the strategy.
"There was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election," Mr Trump said in response.
The real estate mogul says together, the US and Russia will "work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!"
Meanwhile, CNN has found Mr Trump's pick for a top national security role in his administration plagiarised much of a recent book she 'wrote'.
Monica Crowley is an author, radio host and television personality, and her 2012 book What the (Bleep) Just Happened was a best-seller. She's been tapped to serve as senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, CNN reports.
The news agency found more than 50 examples in the book where Ms Crowley had lifted phrases verbatim from a variety of sources, including Fox News, the New York Times, the BBC, Yahoo News, the Wall Street Journal, other websites and books.
Mr Trump's transition team issued a statement calling the CNN article a "politically motived attack".
"HarperCollins - one of the largest and most respected publishers in the world - published her book which has become a national best-seller. Any attempt to discredit Monica is nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country."
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