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 29 December, but later admitted that one call had been made on that day and another call made the day before.
However, Reuters reports that three different sources familiar with the situation said
five calls were made between the pair on the day the sanctions were imposed.
The cozy 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.
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Originally Posted by dannno
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