Trump will keep Russia sanctions ‘for period of time’

Risingbd Desk: Donald Trump has said he would keep sanctions against Russia in place "at least for a period of time".

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, the US President-elect suggested, however, that he might do away with the sanctions if Moscow proves helpful in battling terrorists and achieving other goals.

He said: "If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?"

Mr Trump also told the newspaper he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin some time after he is sworn in on 20 January.

"I understand that they would like to meet, and that's absolutely fine with me," he said.

The sanctions were imposed by the Obama administration in late December in response to Moscow's alleged cyberattacks during the election campaign.

They targeted the GRU and FSB, leading Russian intelligence agencies that the US said were involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other groups.

The US also kicked out 35 Russian diplomats who it said were actually intelligence operatives.

The remarks by Mr Trump come at a time when alleged ties between his campaign and Russia - and his own friendly posture toward Moscow - have come under intense scrutiny.

On Friday it emerged that Mr Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Russia's ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, have been in frequent contact in recent weeks, including on the day the Obama administration imposed the sanctions.

While it is no unusual for incoming administrations to have discussions with foreign governments before taking office, the timings of the contacts would raise questions about whether Mr Trump's team discussed Russia's response to the measures.

Source: Agencies

risingbd/Jan 14, 2017/Mukul