31 July, 2017
President Vladimir Putin today said the United States would have to cut 755 diplomatic staff in Russian Federation and warned of a prolonged gridlock in its ties after the US Congress backed new sanctions against the Kremlin.
U.S. President Donald Trump will reportedly sign the legislation into law.
The Senate's decisive vote to approve a new package of stiff financial sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea sends the popular bill to President Donald Trump.
Thirty-five Russian diplomats were expelled from the United States in December under sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama in response to Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
The bill would give Congress new power to stop Trump from easing sanctions against Moscow.
US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft has expressed his "strong disappointment and protest" over Moscow's decision to expel the US diplomats, according to a statement to CNN from the US Embassy in Moscow.
High on the list of United States grievances is the allegation that Russian operatives hacked Democratic Party computers at the peak of the troubled 2016 election campaign. Germany's foreign minister said his country wouldn't accept the US sanctions against Russian Federation being applied to European companies.
The US is set to cut its diplomatic staff by 200-300 after Moscow told the US embassy it wanted a maximum of 455 in the country by 1 September.
"The American side has made a move which, it is important to note, hasn't been provoked by anything, to worsen Russian-US relations".
The legislation, could put strain on Trumps ability to improve ties with Russia, which he has vocally pursued, but has been restrained by the allegations that his associates had contacts with Russian officials during the election campaign. Moscow is also barring Americans from using two diplomatic facilities.
But there was "very little political space or rational for Trump to veto", said Aaron David Miller, a vice president at the Wilson Center, said prior to the White House announcement Friday night. He raised eyebrows from his first days on the campaign trail by expressing a desire to improve the U.S. - Russian Federation relationship. "I just don't think that's a good way to start off as president". It is the first major foreign policy legislation approved by Congress under Trump, who has struggled to advance his domestic agenda despite Republicans controlling the Senate and House of Representatives.
"I can not imagine anybody is seriously thinking about vetoing this bill", said Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The 184-page bill seeks to hit Putin and the oligarchs close to him by targeting Russian corruption, human rights abusers, and crucial sectors of the Russian economy, including weapons sales and energy exports. He and his staff have specifically expressed an openness to easing sanctions. United States sanctions were also imposed in December previous year. "The latest events show that in well-known circles in the United States, Russophobia and a course toward open confrontation with our country have taken hold".
Russian Federation will likely retaliate in ways that go beyond the expulsion of USA diplomats and the seizure of American diplomatic recreation areas that took place Friday, said George Beebe, a former director of Russian Federation analysis at the Central Intelligence Agency, and others. The sanctions also apply to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps security force.
