[ti:Russia Looks to Tillerson after Flynn Resignation] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.16]Russian officials hope the new U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson [00:07.52]will work to improve relations between the two countries [00:12.60]despite the resignation of Michael Flynn, the national security advisor. [00:20.16]Flynn resigned Monday night following reports that he had not told the truth [00:27.64]about his contacts with Russian officials. [00:32.40]In his resignation letter, Flynn admitted that he had given "incomplete information" [00:39.68]about his phone conversations with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States. [00:48.84]Last week, the Washington Post and New York Times newspapers [00:54.32]reported that Flynn had talked with the ambassador [00:58.56]about economic restrictions, or sanctions, [01:02.80]that the Obama administration had placed on Russia. [01:07.80]The Trump administration had earlier denied that Flynn had done so. [01:15.53]Relations between the two countries worsened after Russia annexed Crimea [01:23.08]and began to support separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine in 2014. [01:31.92]The United States answered those moves with economic sanctions [01:37.40]and bans on visas for some Russian officials. [01:43.00]Flynn was often seen as President Trump's key contact with Moscow. [01:49.56]In 2015, he was paid by Russia to attend a dinner for Russia Today, [01:57.88]a state-funded television network. [02:01.64]He sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the event. [02:08.32]The Associated Press news agency reported the criticisms of [02:14.20]Konstantin Kosachev, a member of Russia's parliament. [02:19.26]Kosachev said on Facebook that removing a national security adviser [02:26.24]for his contacts with Russia is "not just paranoia but something even worse." [02:35.68]But later in the day, Russian officials were less critical. [02:41.04]Leonid Slutsky is chairman of the foreign affairs committee [02:46.28]of the lower chamber of parliament. [02:49.52]Soon after Flynn's resignation he said it was a "negative signal" [02:55.80]for relations between the United States and Russia. [03:00.36]But later he said it "cannot fundamentally influence Russia-U.S. ties." [03:08.96]Dmitry Peskov is a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. [03:16.36]The Associated Press asked him if Russia still hopes [03:22.44]that relations with the United States will improve. [03:27.39]He said it is "too early to say" since "Trump's team has not been shaped yet." [03:37.44]Alexei Makarkin is an analyst at the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies. [03:46.32]He said Tillerson would be negotiating with Russia, not Flynn. [03:53.14]As the former head of the oil company ExxonMobil, [03:58.04]Tillerson developed close business ties with Russia. [04:03.92]In 2013, Putin even gave him the Order of Friendship. [04:10.68]Tillerson is to meet this week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. [04:19.76]I'm Anne Ball. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM