MOSCOW — The Kremlin hopes that Donald Trump will move to improve badly strained Russia-U.S. ties once he takes office. Relations between Moscow and Washington are at their lowest point since the Cold War amid the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and other issues. The hacking issue is likely to weigh over Trump and could overshadow any possible attempt by his administration to improve ties with Moscow. Moscow long has pushed for such cooperation, hoping it would help turn the page on the Ukrainian crisis and improve its ties with Washington. Putin has described the program as an attempt to erode Russia's nuclear deterrent, dismissing U.S. claims the shield is intended to fend off a potential missile threat from Iran.

Source: New York Times January 15, 2017 15:03 UTC