“There are more hopes associated with Trump with regards to the lifting of sanctions; maybe the environment (between the U.S. and Russia) will change,” Vasyukhin told the network, explaining his motivation.

Trump has indeed suggested such a rosy outlook. He has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strong leader who is “very smart.” That comes despite contrasting comments from U.S. politicians as well as U.S. intelligence agencies suggesting that Russia was behind hackings that interfered with the presidential election. Earlier this month, the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency concluded that Moscow was directly responsible for the attacks.

In an interview released Monday, Trump suggested relaxing some U.S. sanctions against Russia — imposed over its annexation of Crimea — if the nation agrees to a nuclear arms reduction.