President-elect Donald Trump's outreach to Russia could create backlash, but at the same time, Russia is "no longer a communist state" and the United States could help the country transition into a "significant member of the global community," former National Security Advisor Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski said Wednesday.
"The threats are obvious," Brzezinski, the father of MSNBC "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski said on his daughter's show. "They could produce a great deal of misconceptions on both sides and then disappointment and resentment. Someone has to be very deliberate and cautious, but generally speaking it's a desirable thing to do."
Russia hasn't yet defined itself as a democracy, Brzezinski said, and still has a lot of resentment against the United States, but if "clever" steps are taken, the country could become "one of the top three, the United States, China, and Russia."
Trump has often been criticized for his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Brzezinski said it's important to make all efforts, but do so "calmly and patently, knowing what is at stake."
Brzezinski also discussed the ongoing Trump transition and Cabinet selection, and said the president-elect's first three or four appointments are important to set the tone of the administration.
"Without naming names because I won't, there is some ambivalence about some choices particularly in terms of their very recent international conduct, which raises question as to the extent of which they're very familiar with the name in the game," Brzezinski said, making a likely reference to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's ties to foreign interests.
However, he continued, it's normal for a president-elect to investigate several possible candidates "even when he has no intention to consider them."
Brzezinski, who served under former President Jimmy Carter, said on the program he was surprised Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton lost the election.
"I went to sleep thinking that she had won," he said. "I woke up at 7 a.m. in the morning, put on the television and literally my whole body just rose and jumped out of bed. Everything at once. I was stunned."
Meanwhile, Brzezinski said he considers income inequality to be one of the biggest problems facing the United States.
"When you have stagnation and a rather severe case of unemployment, the sense of social injustice can be terribly demoralizing and politically in the long run very dangerous," he said.