Mr Trump has indicated he may lift sanctions imposed on Russia for cyber attacks during the US election AP
Donald Trump’s national security adviser has been in “very frequent” contact with Russia’s ambassador to the US, and the pair spoke on the day Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its part in election hacking, according to a senior US official.
Mr Trump’s team initially denied that Michael Flynn and Russia’s ambassador Sergey Kislyak spoke on December 29, but later admitted that a call had been made on that day and another call made the day before.
The cosy relationship has raised questions about whether repeated contact with the President-elect’s team has helped shape Moscow’s response to the imposition of sanctions.
Following the enforcement of the sanctions, in which Washington expelled 35 Russian diplomats, Vladimir Putin did not retaliate, and instead said he would not deport US diplomats in response.
Mr Trump described Mr Putin’s actions as “very smart”, putting himself at odds with his own country’s government, its intelligence service and with his own party.
The President-elect’s stance has prompted outrage in Washington, including among Republicans, after US security officials advised that Russia had been behind a hacking operation aimed at influencing the US election to benefit Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has already indicated he may lift the sanctions once he takes office.
“If Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions?” he asked in an interview with the Wall Street Journal
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