"Why would anybody have sanctions if somebody’s doing some really great things?” Donald Trump said. | Getty Report: Trump open to lifting Russian sanctions if 'we get along'

President-elect Donald Trump expressed a willingness Friday to lift sanctions on Russia if it assists the U.S. in other efforts, such as counterterrorism.

Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he intends to keep sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration in response to cyberattacks during the election “at least for a period of time.” But the president-elect implied sanctions would not be warranted if Russia helps the U.S. in other ways.


“If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody’s doing some really great things?” Trump said.

The president-elect spoke of meeting with Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, after he is sworn in.

“I understand that they would like to meet, and that’s absolutely fine with me,” he said.

Trump also stood by his previous remarks on China, which he's repeatedly criticized on the stump. The president-elect said he would not commit to the decades-old agreement of not recognizing Taiwan diplomatically, a policy known as "One China."

“Everything is under negotiation including One China," Trump said.

The president-elect caused a diplomatic furor in early December when he spoke to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen over the phone, the first communication between leaders of the United States and Taiwan in over 35 years.

Trump stood by that decision Friday, telling the Journal: "It would have been very rude not to accept the phone call.”

He added: “We sold them $2 billion of military equipment last year. We can sell them $2 billion of the latest and greatest military equipment but we’re not allowed to accept a phone call."