Premature to talk about Russia-US relations: official

Russian Foreign Ministry said that it is premature to talk about the improvement of bilateral relations between the countries after Donald Trump's victory in US presidential election.

The ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday that Russia has heard some statements made by the US President-elect during his presidential campaign, which could "inspire optimism", Xinhua news agency reported.

However, she added that "the team is just being formed and it will take time".

Trump has pledged to fix US-Russia relations during his campaign and said he is confident about getting along with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin on Wednesday sent a message of congratulations to Trump on his victory, saying that he hopes to work with Trump to lift bilateral relations "out of the current crisis".

Russia-US relations have been dwindling since the Ukraine crisis in 2014 with a series of confrontations and disagreements on issues ranging from military operations in Syria, Crimea's absorption into Russia, and alleged cyber attacks.

--IANS

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