U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called on the country to "move on" after the White House hit Russia with major new sanctions for interfering in the November election through cyberattacks.
"It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things," Trump said on December 29, though he indicated for the first time that he is taking the charges of Russian interference documented by U.S. intelligence agencies more seriously than he did during the campaign, when he repeatedly dismissed them.
"In the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation," he said.
President Barack Obama earlier ordered a raft of measures ranging from the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats to sanctions on Russia's security services, who U.S. intelligence agencies blamed for the hack and leak of Democratic Party e-mails.
Trump's new willingness to consider the evidence presented by the White House suggests he is responding to pressure by other Republican leaders, who have called for a tough stance against Russia to discourage it from such political interference in the future.
