Russia Comes Up With a 'Cold-Blooded Response' to Obama's Last 'Provocation'

© Sputnik / Aleksey Nikolskyi / Go to the mediabankPresident Vladimir Putin
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President of Italian Institute for Geopolitics and Applied Sciences Tiberio Graziani described as "provocative" the recent moves by outgoing United States President Barack Obama against Russia and praised the Kremlin’s reserved reaction.

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On December 29, Obama announced the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, the closing of two Russian diplomatic compounds and new sanctions against six Russian individuals and five entities, including the GRU (the Main Intelligence Directorate) and FSB (the Federal Security Service), over Moscow's alleged interference in the November US presidential election, which the Kremlin has denied.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow will determine further steps in restoring ties with the US depending on the policy of President-elect Donald Trump.

"Reserving the right to retaliate, we will not resort to the level of irresponsible 'kitchen' diplomacy and further steps toward the restoration of Russian-US relations will be built on the basis of the policy carried out by the administration of President Donald Trump," Putin said.

A journalist writes a material as she watches a live telecast of the U.S. presidential election standing at portraits of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Union Jack pub in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Russia will not expel anyone as a response to US sanctions against Moscow over alleged hacking, Putin added.

Commenting on the new sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said that this time the US was "slapped in the face" by its own government.

"This decision [to impose new sanctions against Moscow] is very weird. It is symbolic and I would say it is provocative," Graziani told RIA Novosti.

According to the analyst, Obama’s actions indicate that the outgoing US president is likely to continue his political career after leaving office.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump (L) to discuss transition plans in the White House Oval Office in Washington, U.S., November 10, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Graziani noted that Donald Trump will inherit a very difficult foreign policy situation, especially taking into account the crisis in Moscow-Washington bilateral ties.

"Now, the most important is whether Trump is able to make good on his electoral promises, particularly on establishing a new balance in relations with Russia," he underscored.

Commenting on Kremlin’s response to the new sanctions, Graziani praised the reserve approach by Moscow.

"It is very important that the Kremlin delivered a cold-blooded response to this provocation. Moscow should try to minimize the damage Obama is inflicting [on US-Russia ties] in the last days of his presidency," Graziani concluded.

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