Barack Obama says Russia must stop 'meddling' in world affairs if they want sanctions lifted

The outgoing US President made reiterated that the sanctions imposed in 2014 were a direct response to the illegal annexation of Crimea peninsula from Ukraine

Obama gives the final press conference of his presidency (Nicholas Kamm/Getty)

President Barack Obama pushed back against President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to lift sanctions against Russia in exchange for a nuclear arms reduction deal, insisting the sanctions should remain connected to why they were implemented in the first place.

“The reason we oppose the recall was not because of nuclear issues. It was because the independence and sovereignty of a country, Ukraine, had been encroached upon by force by Russia,” Mr Obama told reporters at his final presidential press conference.

“I think it will probably best serve not only American interests but also the interests of preserving international norms,” he added, “if we made sure that we don’t confuse why these sanctions have been imposed with a whole set of other issues.”

Mr Trump said that he would possibly work on a deal with the Russian government to lift sanctions imposed in 2014 following the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

“They have sanctions on Russia – let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia,” Mr Trump told the London Times earlier this week. “For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that’s part of it.”

President Obama signed the 2010 New START treaty negotiated with Russia, agreeing to limit the number of strategic, long-range nuclear weapons the countries can deploy.

According to the US State Department, the US has 1,367 nuclear warheads on deployed missiles and bombers; Russia has 1,796.

Mr Trump suggested that he would work to reduce negotiating a new nuclear arms agreement with the nation, offering the recall as an incentive.

“Russia’s hurting very badly right now because of sanctions,” he said, “but I think something can happen that a lot of people are going to benefit.”

Precisely who is going to benefit from the recall of sanctions has been the focus of criticism of the incoming administration.

Secretary of State nominee and former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson brokered deals with the Russian oil conglomerate Rosneft, which is estimated at $1bn. But Exxon had to suspend operation in Russia as a result of the 2014 sanctions.

Mr Tillerson has come under fire for providing misleading answers about his role in lobbying against the sanctions while running the massive oil company in 2015 and 2016.

“I have never lobbied against sanctions personally,” Mr Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “To my knowledge, Exxon never directly lobbied against sanctions.”

Between 2014 and 2015, according to public documents, Exxon spent some $300,000 on lobbying against the Russian sanctions in Washington.

For his part, Mr Obama said that, as long as “Russia continues to occupy Ukrainian territory and meddle in Ukrainian affairs – and support military surrogates who have violated basic international law and international norms,” the sanctions will remain.

“As soon as [Russia stops] doing that, the sanctions will be removed."