Trump hosts UK PM as first foreign leader
-Sanction on Russia should stay: Theresa May
-Great relations with Russia, China would be positive: Trump
US President Donald Trump yesterday said he wanted to have good relations with Russia and declined to say whether he was ready to lift sanctions on Moscow, which visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May said must stay in place.
Speaking at a news conference after his first meeting with a foreign leader at the White House since becoming president, Trump said he hoped to have a "fantastic relationship" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he said it was possible that would not occur, reports Reuters.
Any move by the White House to lift sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine would likely cause consternation among European allies who believe sanctions should be lifted only if Moscow complies with the West's conditions on Ukraine.
Those concerns would be compounded at home, where many in the US Congress are vehemently opposed to Putin's actions in Ukraine and Syria as well as what US intelligence agencies have concluded was Russian meddling in the US election campaign.
May told the news conference she believed sanctions against Russia should stay in place until Moscow fulfilled its obligations under the Minsk agreement.
She also made a point of emphasising that during their talks, Trump had given strong backing to Nato, an alliance that the president has previously called obsolete.
Putin and Trump are likely to discuss the sanctions when the two leaders speak by telephone today, a senior White House aide said.
TELEPHONE DIPLOMACY
AFP reports: White House spokesman Sean Spicer had earlier announced on Twitter that Trump plans to talk to Putin, France's President Francois Hollande and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel over the weekend.
France and Germany brokered the Minsk Agreement between Russia and Ukraine and have been pressuring both sides to live up to it.
Appearing on Fox News, Trump's senior advisor Kellyanne Conway said the new commander-in-chief was indeed considering lifting sanctions on Russia.
“All of that is under consideration,” she said.
“If another nation that has considerable resources wishes to join together with the United States of America to try to defeat and eradicate radical Islamic terrorism, then we're listening.”
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would congratulate Trump on his inauguration.
But he refused to comment on rumours that Trump might already be gearing up to roll back the measures that have helped drive ties to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.
“This is the first contact by phone since President Trump assumed office so it is hardly likely there will be substantive contact on all issues. Let's be patient,” Peskov said.
On Thursday, in a speech to US Republican lawmakers, May had suggested Washington engage Putin but be wary of him.
Trump has sparked concerns among Washington's European allies and foreign policy hawks at home by repeatedly declaring his desire to forge closer ties with Moscow.
He won the presidency amid charges that Russia interfered in last year's election on his behalf, in part by hacking the emails of top officials in his rival Hillary Clinton's campaign.
'MURDERER AND THUG'
Republicans in Congress have warned against softening Washington's stance on Putin.
“He should remember that the man on the other end of the line is a murderer and a thug who seeks to undermine American national security interests at every turn,” Senator John McCain said.
Of talk of lifting the sanctions, McCain said: “I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation and reject such a reckless course.
“If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law,” he added.
The Trump-Putin call will be their first official contact since the Republican took office a week ago.
The pair spoke by telephone in November, shortly after Trump's election victory and, according to the Kremlin, “declared the need for active joint work to normalise” ties.
Today there are several sets of sanctions on Russia, including the Magnitsky Act, which Congress passed in 2012 to punish corrupt officials.
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