Responding to Russia sanctions, Trump urges nation to 'move on'

President-elect, forced to choose whether to back moves by Obama, says he’ll meet with spy heads over hacking allegations

US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday responded to a slew of US election-related sanctions against Russia with a call for the country to “move on” and a conciliatory pledge to meet US spy chiefs he has harshly criticized.

“It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things,” Trump said, echoing previous prickly reactions to allegations his November win over Hillary Clinton was somehow tainted by Russian interference.

“Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation,” he added.

President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered a series of diplomatic and economic sanctions against Russia over the hacking which US officials say was aimed at disrupting the November election.

The move put Trump — who has expressed open admiration for Russia and Putin, and who has dismissed the hacking allegations — in the position of having to decide whether to roll back the measures once in office.

Trump has long treated such accusations as a thinly veiled effort by a Democratic president to delegitimize a Republican victory.

A dog is walked past the main gate into the Russian Embassy December 29, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Brendan Smialowski) — A dog is walked past the main gate into the Russian Embassy on December 29, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

But that defiant stance is running up against increasing opposition in his own party.

While Trump has already received intelligence briefings about the election and substantial evidence is in the public sphere, his pledge to meet with intelligence chiefs could provide a face-saving opportunity to further soften his stance.

Russian officials had earlier indicated they would wait to see how Trump responded to the sanctions before deciding how to retaliate against the US.

Konstantin Kosachev, the foreign affairs committee chairman of the Russian parliament’s upper chamber, told the Interfax news agency that Russia “needs to consider the circumstances of the transition period and a possible reaction of the US president-elect.”

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Thursday that the measures signal Obama’s “unpredictable” and “deal a blow on the foreign policy plans of the incoming administration of the president-elect.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 29, 2016. (AFP / Sputnik / Michael Klimentyev) — Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 29, 2016. (AFP/Sputnik/Michael Klimentyev)

Peskov said Putin has yet to study what the new sanctions involve and work out what retaliatory steps could be.

Before Trump’s comment, the sanctions garnered some support from the Republican leadership, with House Speaker Paul Ryan calling the measures “overdue” and “appropriate.”

Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said the sanctions were “a small price” for Russia to pay for interfering with US elections. They said they’ll lead efforts in Congress to impose stronger sanctions.

McCain, of Arizona, and Graham, of South Carolina, called Russian cyberattacks on the 2016 election a “brazen attack on American democracy” and said retaliation measures announced by Obama were long overdue.