Putin wants 755 US diplomat staffers out following sanctions

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday the Kremlin will expel 755 members of US diplomatic staff in Russia in response to new sanctions against the country.

"The personnel of the US diplomatic missions in Russia will be cut by 755 people and will now equal the number of the Russian diplomatic personnel in the United States, 455 people on each side," Putin said in an interview broadcast on the Rossiya TV channel.

Moscow ordered Washington on Friday to cut its diplomatic staff to 455 by September 1 and said it would seize two US diplomatic properties after Congress approved new sanctions.

This file photo shows Russian policemen standing guard in front of the US Embassy in Moscow. /AFP Photo

Denouncing the latest round of sanctions as "unlawful", Putin said "it was time to show that we're not going to leave anything unanswered."

"We've been waiting for quite a long time that maybe something would change for the better, we had hopes that the situation would change. But it looks like it's not going to change in the near future," he said.

Official reponse from the US

US Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday responded to Russia's move, calling it "unacceptable".

But he also expressed confidence that tensions could be defused, adding that Moscow needs to behave differently.

"The President has made it very clear that Russia's destabilizing activities, its support for rogue regimes, its activities in Ukraine, are unacceptable," Pence said.

"The president and I remain very hopeful that we'll see different behavior by the Russian government, with regard to Ukraine, with regard to supporting rogue regimes in Iran and North Korea," he added.

Earlier this month, US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election.

As a result, the US announced sanctions on 13 current and former Russian officials, action which also aims to further punish Moscow for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, said in a post on Twitter on Sunday, "We don't have 755 American diplomats in Russia."

He said the cuts would likely delay the application process for US visas.

Screenshot from Twitter.com

Additional measures against the US

Putin said Russia has prepared a large set of measures to respond to the US when necessary, including restrictions in "sensitive" areas of cooperation.

"We could imagine, theoretically, that one day a moment would come when the damage of attempts to put pressure on Russia will be comparable to the negative consequences of certain limitations of our cooperation. If that moment ever comes, we could discuss other response options. But I hope it will not come to that. As of today, I am against it," Putin said.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. /AFP Photo

According to Putin, these areas mostly include the joint fight against terrorism, obligations in nuclear arms control and space projects rather than economic relations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia reserves the right to give an adequate response if Washington takes further hostile measures.

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