Putin to call Trump in coming days

by Elliot Smilowitz - 01/21/17 7:44 AM ET

Russian president Vladimir Putin will call newly sworn-in President Trump in the coming days, a Kremlin spokesman said early Saturday.

Dmitry Peskov told Russian media the call was a “diplomatic necessity,” according to a CNN report posted to Twitter.

“The acting administration will have to be introduced to all the nuances of our bilateral ties,” Peskov said.

{mosads}The Putin spokesman said nuclear disarmament was a good idea in concept, but “symmetrical reductions are absolutely inadmissible and meaningless” because of the difference between U.S. and Russian stockpiles.

He also said Putin would initiate a conversation on lifting U.S. sanctions on Moscow. Trump last week expressed openness to removing some sanctions placed on Russia by former President Obama.

Trump earlier this month acknowledged for the first time that Russia was likely behind the hacks of Democratic groups and operatives during the election that led to damaging leaks.

He had long been skeptical of Moscow’s links to the hacks, even after the U.S. intelligence community publicly blamed Russia in October.

Also earlier this month, an unverified intelligence dossier was leaked that claimed the Kremlin has compromising personal and professional information on Trump and that his campaign aides and Russian intermediaries have been in contact throughout the campaign.

Trump has slammed the dossier as “fake news.”

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