Putin says US will have to shed 755 from diplomatic staff
Posted July 30, 2017 12:07 pm.
Last Updated July 30, 2017 12:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MOSCOW (NEWS 1130) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says the United States will have to cut its diplomatic staff in Russia by 755 under new sanctions from Moscow.
Russian’s Foreign Ministry on Friday ordered a reduction by September 1 in the number of US diplomats in Russia. It said it is ordering the US Embassy to reduce the number of embassy and consular employees in the country to 455 in response to the US Senate’s approval of a new package of sanctions.
It was not clear then how many reassignments that would mean from the Moscow embassy and the three US consulates in Russia.
Putin said in an interview televised on state television on Sunday that he ordered the move because he “thought it was the time to show that we’re not going to leave that without an answer.”
