Russia urges Trump to keep campaign pledge to improve relations

The White House’s call for Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine is at odds with Trump’s pre-election pledge to improve relations, Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian lower house of parliament, told lawmakers Wednesday, the Interfax news service reported. They should wait for Trump’s “own words” on the subject and “everything will be fine” if he fulfills his election program, Volodin said.

Crimea is a part of Russia and its status won’t be discussed with the U.S., while news reports that Russian intelligence officers met with members of Trump’s election campaign “aren’t based on any facts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. Russian contacts that took place with Trump’s team were “normal diplomatic practice,” he said. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service declined to comment on what it called “unsubstantiated speculation.”…

While Russia’s committed to “full restoration” of ties, “we see that pressure is continuing on Trump” from forces in the U.S. “who are trying to push anti-Russian stereotypes,” Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament and the country’s third most senior politician, told journalists on Wednesday, according to Interfax.