Russia eyes better ties with Trump; says contacts underway
MOSCOW — A top Russian diplomat and Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Thursday that Russian experts were in contact with some members of President-elect Donald Trump’s staff during the presidential campaign, a period in which the United States accused Russia of hacking into Democratic Party emails systems.
A spokeswoman for Trump denied the assertion, but it raised the ongoing suspicions about the president-elect’s relationship with Putin’s government that had dogged his campaign with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Russia is hopeful that a Trump presidency will herald improved relations with the United States. But, in a sign of the cold realism that Putin is known for, Moscow is not betting on an immediate drastic turnaround in the strained relationship.
And while Trump himself has said he wants to be friends with Russia and join forces in the fight against terrorism, he has outlined few specifics as to how he would go about it. President Barack Obama began his presidency with a similar goal, only to see progress unravel over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.