FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. would have to cut 755 diplomats and staff in the country by September in retaliation for impending U.S. sanctions on Moscow.
In an interview with Russian state television, Mr. Putin said the U.S. presence in Russia would be reduced by more than half, following the passage of new sanctions legislation by Congress that has further frayed ties between Moscow and Washington. The White House has indicated that President Donald Trump plans to sign the legislation.
‘We had hoped that the situation would somehow change,’ Mr. Putin said. ‘But judging by everything, if it changes, it won’t happen fast.’
Mr. Putin held out the possibility of additional measures but said that at this point he was against taking further punitive steps. ‘I hope it doesn’t come to that,’ he said.
Mr. Putin told state television that slightly more than 1,000 U.S. diplomatic and technical staff work in Russia at present.
Last week, the Russian foreign ministry said the number of U.S. diplomatic and technical staff in Russia as of Sept. 1 would be reduced to 455, the same number of Russian diplomats now operating in the U.S.
It’s unclear how the reductions will affect American citizens working in the U.S. embassy and in three U.S. consulates in Russia; many of the people who work in those facilities are local hires.”
-Thomas Grove, “Russia to Cut 755 U.S. Diplomats, Staff Amid New Sanctions,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 30, 2017 07:03pm