U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at his final press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Jan. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that having a constructive relationship with Russia is in the interest of the U.S. and the world.

"That's been my approach throughout my presidency," Obama said at his final press conference, two days before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

However, Obama said he noted an escalation of anti-American rhetoric on the part of Russia in recent years, saying the return to "an adversarial spirit" that existed during the Cold War has made the U.S.-Russia relationship more difficult.

He also defended his decisions over the past years to impose several rounds of sanctions on Russia, in conjunction with U.S. allies in Europe.

"The reason we imposed the sanctions...was because the independence and sovereignty of a country, Ukraine, had been encroached upon by force, by Russia," Obama said, adding that it was "the judgment of the entire international community."

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in New York, the United States, on Jan. 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Gary Hershorn)

In a recent interview, Trump proposed offering to end sanctions imposed on Russia in return for a nuclear arms reduction deal with Moscow.

"They have sanctions on Russia -- let's see if we can make some good deals with Russia," the President-elect told The Times of London.

"For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that's part of it. But Russia's hurting very badly right now because of sanctions, but I think something can happen that a lot of people are gonna benefit," Trump said.

Asked about the effectiveness of Trump's strategy at Wednesday's press conference, Obama said, "If President-elect Trump is able to restart those talks in a serious way, I think there remains a lot of room for our two countries to reduce our stock piles."