‘This was aimed not at Trump, but at America’: Russia orders hundreds of US staff out as payback for sanctions
United States given until September 1 to bring the total number of diplomatic and technical personnel down 455
Russia ordered the US to slash hundreds of embassy and other personnel in the country in a dramatic and sweeping retaliation to the passage of a new sanctions bill in the United States Congress.
The order means the US would have to cut “hundreds” of personnel at its embassy and consulates in Russia, according to a diplomat familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity.
US officials didn’t immediately comment on how many would be affected.
Late on Thursday, the Senate voted 98 to 2 in favour of a bill passed earlier by the House that strengthens existing sanctions on Russia and gives Congress the power to block President Donald Trump from lifting them. The White House has given mixed messages about whether Trump will sign the legislation at a time when his presidential campaign is under investigation over possible collusion with Moscow.
There are far more American diplomats in our country than Russian diplomats in America
The Russian reaction was swifter and harsher than many officials had anticipated. It threatened to cast the two nuclear-armed powers into a new spiral of tensions even as relations are already at their lowest point since the cold war. For Trump, the worsening conflict poses a dilemma between his desire to build ties with Russia and mounting congressional opposition to that effort.
