Trump’s one-time adviser calls for better US-Russia ties

MOSCOW – A former foreign policy adviser of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says Russia and the U.S. should repair their strained ties.

Carter Page, one of Trump’s foreign policy advisers during his election campaign, said at a news conference Monday that Moscow and Washington should focus on the economy and try to search for mutually beneficial solutions. He warned, however, that it’s too early to talk about lifting Western sanctions against Russia.

Page dismissed claims that Russia had sought to influence the U.S. election through hacking, saying that there has been a lot of speculation but no serious evidence.

Page, who has been in Moscow since last week for meetings with businessmen and politicians, denied reports that he met Igor Sechin, the powerful CEO of Russian state-controlled Rosneft oil giant, saying he met one of its executives.