Russia looks to friendlier Trump
HONOLULU—Stung by new punishments, Russia is looking straight past President Barack Obama to Donald Trump in hopes the president-elect will reverse the tough US stance toward Moscow of the last eight years. In a stunning embrace of a longtime US adversary, Trump is siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Whether Trump steers the US toward or away from Russia upon taking office is shaping up as the first major test of his foreign policy disposition and his willingness to buck fellow Republicans, who for years have argued Obama wasn’t tough enough. Now that Obama has finally sanctioned Russia over hacking allegations, Putin has essentially put relations on hold till Trump takes over.
“Great move on delay (by V. Putin),” Trump wrote Friday on Twitter. “I always knew he was very smart!”
He was referring to Putin’s announcement that Russia won’t immediately retaliate after Obama ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds and expelled 35 diplomats the US said were really spies. Though Putin reserved the right to hit back later, he suggested that won’t be necessary with Trump in office.
Brushing off Obama, Putin said Russia would plan steps to restore US ties “based on the policies that will be carried out by the administration of President D. Trump.” Not only would Russia not kick Americans out, Putin said, he was inviting the kids of all US diplomats to the Kremlin’s New Year’s and Christmas parties.
“At this point, they’re trolling Obama,” said Olga Oliker, who directs the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Obama administration said it had seen Putin’s remarks but had nothing more to say.
Trump’s move to side with a foreign adversary over the sitting US president was a striking departure from typical diplomatic practice. In a sign he wanted maximum publicity, Trump pinned the tweet to the top of his Twitter page so it would remain there indefinitely.
Russia denies the US intelligence community’s assessment that in an attempt to help Trump win the presidency, Moscow orchestrated cyber breaches in which tens of thousands of Democrats’ emails were stolen and later made public. Trump, too, has refused to accept that conclusion and insisted the country should just “move on,” though he has agreed to meet next week with intelligence leaders to learn more.
Notably, after the US on Thursday issued a report it said exposed Russia’s cyber tactics, Putin’s aides didn’t offer any specific rebuttal. The report included detailed technical information like IP addresses and samples of malware code the US said Russia uses.
One utility company, Burlington Electric Department in Vermont, reported Friday that it had detected the malware on a company laptop that was not connected to its grid systems. Burlington said, “We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding.” (AP)