Expulsion of Diplomats From Russia a Response to US' Actions Over a Year - MP

The decision to cut the number of US diplomats in Russia was made not only in the light of Washington’s upcoming sanctions against Moscow but also as a response to the United States’ actions in December, when the Russian diplomats were abruptly expelled, a Russian lawmaker said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In response to the anti-Russia policy of the United States and the new sanctions against Moscow being developed, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday urged Washington to bring the number of diplomats and technical staff of diplomatic missions in Russia in line with the number of Russian diplomatic representatives in the United States before September 1. This means that the total number of personnel employed in US diplomatic and consular offices in Russia will be reduced to 455 people.

"It is necessary to understand that these measures are not only a response to the Congress’ vote on the new sanctions against Russia, it is also a diplomatic reaction to the measures, imposed in December," Dmitry Novikov, the first deputy chairman of the International Affairs Committee of Russia's lower house of parliament, told Sputnik on Monday.

As Russia did not immediately respond to the expulsion of its diplomats in 2016, one cannot say that Moscow’s response was not deliberate, especially considering that the US actions violated international legal norms, according to the lawmaker.

"To say that the Russian reaction is premature is not correct as we have waited for a half of year," the committee’s chair stressed.

In December 2016, Washington adopted sanctions targeting Russia over its alleged interference in the US presidential election, something which Moscow has repeatedly denied. As part of the restrictions, the United States expelled 35 Russian diplomats and banned Russia from access to two diplomatic compounds. The Russian diplomats in the United States had less than 24 hours to vacate diplomatic property and 72 hours to leave the United States. Moscow, unlike its counterpart, gave the US diplomats a prolonged time frame to leave the country, according to Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Last week, both chambers of the US Congress overwhelmingly approved a bill imposing new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, as well as limiting US President Donald Trump's ability to lift the anti-Moscow restrictions. On Friday, the White House said that Trump intended to sign the bill.