Trump praises Putin for not retaliating to Obama

President-elect calls Russian leader 'very smart' in tweet

President-elect Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin as “very smart” after the Russian leader ruled out a tit-for-tat retaliation for the Obama administration’s expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats over cyberattacks aimed at interfering with the U.S. election.

“Great move on delay (by V Putin) — I always knew he was very smart!” Trump wrote on Twitter Friday, hours after Putin said Russia won’t order U.S. diplomats out of the country in reaction to President Barack Obama’s action the day before.

Trump’s message — which was spread over his social media accounts, promoted by his staff and retweeted by the Russian embassy in Washington