Russia has said it is waiting with "patience" for indications about the future course of Washington's policy toward Moscow.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on March 1 that the Kremlin has "heard different statements from President [Donald] Trump."
He said: "We are full of patience and are waiting for some kind of actions to follow these statements that will allow us to understand...the perspectives for bilateral relations."
Peskov's remarks came a day after Trump addressed the U.S. Congress about the plans of his administration.
Trump did not mention Russia by name.
But in a possible reference to his campaign pledge to seek warmer relations with Moscow, Trump said: "America is willing to find new friends and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align."
Peskov said the Kremlin is not surprised that Trump did not specifically mention relations with Russia in his February 28 speech to the U.S. Congress.
"The president of the United States, naturally, works on American affairs, and our President [Vladimir] Putin works on Russian affairs," he said. "It is absolutely normal."
Trump on February 23 suggested he wants to strengthen the U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying the United States has "fallen behind on nuclear-weapon capacity" and must ensure it is "at the top of the pack."
Trump also said that New START, a 2010 strategic-arms limitation treaty between the United States and Russia, was a "one-sided deal."
New START stipulates that both sides must limit their arsenals of strategic nuclear weapons to equal levels by February 2018 and maintain those ceilings for 10 years.
