"We will be following very, very closely what foreign policy the United States will choose. The relationship with Russia will be an important factor," Eliasson said. "How that relationship then develops in terms of crises in the world, like Syria, Ukraine and others, they are relevant. We all welcome improved relations between US and Russia. But also it’s important that the solutions that are chosen are solutions that will serve the people and will serve peace and reconciliation," he added.
Trump’s transition team said in a statement Monday that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone and told him that he looked forward to a strong and lasting bilateral relationship.
Both politicians agreed that the current state of US-Russian relations was unsatisfactory and vowed to normalize relations and build a foundation for economic ties.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin may have personal contacts with Trump before his inauguration as US president on January 20, 2017.
Republican Trump secured a victory in the US presidential election on November 8 with 290 electoral votes against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's 232.
