US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday told British media that he will offer to end sanctions against Russia if it agrees to a nuclear reduction deal.

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In an interview published on Monday, Trump said that he wants the nuclear weapons arsenals of the United States and Russia, the world's two biggest nuclear powers, to be "reduced very substantially."

"They have sanctions on Russia - let's see if we can make some good deals with Russia. For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that's part of it," Trump said.

Trump's comments are a u-turn from his Dec. 22 tweet, in which he said that the United States "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." Around the same period, Russian President Vladimir Putin also called for the strengthening of "strategic nuclear forces."

In his Monday interview, Trump said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was formed to counter the military might of the former USSR, has turned obsolete.

Trump said that NATO has not been dealing effectively with terrorism. He also criticized Russia for its role in the Syrian civil war, saying that was a very bad thing that had resulted in a very bad humanitarian situation.

Russian parliamentarians had varying reactions to Trump's comments on the sanctions imposed on their country.

Konstantin Kosachev, head of Russia's upper house of parliament's international affairs committee, was quoted by the country's media as saying that the annulment of sanctions was not worth making security concessions.

But Russian Senator Oleg Morozov was quoted as saying that Russia would be ready to discuss nuclear cuts, adding that Moscow is in favor of the reduction of nuclear arms.

Tagsdonald trump, Russia, Nuclear Power