FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE PENCE/RUSSIA: “Vice President Pence, on his first full day in Eastern Europe, twice offered a clear and direct message to Russia, warning the Kremlin that the United States will not tolerate Russian force or intimidation toward its neighbors and reassuring the Baltic States that the United States supports them in the face of ‘the specter of aggression from your unpredictable neighbor to the east.’
‘Under President Donald Trump, the United States of America rejects any attempt to use force, threats, intimidation, or malign influence in the Baltic States or against any of our treaty allies,’ Pence said Monday morning, speaking alongside three Baltic leaders at the Estonian president’s office here. ‘To be clear, we hope for better days, for better relations with Russia, but recent diplomatic action taken by Moscow will not deter the commitment of the United States of America to our security, the security of our allies, and the security of freedom loving nations around the world.’
Pence’s comments came in response to President Vladimir Putin’s announcement Sunday that U.S. diplomatic missions in Russia will have to reduce their staffs by 755 people — a retaliatory measure to the Russia sanctions legislation Trump plans to sign this week.”
-Ashley Parker, “Pence takes tough tone on Russia after Moscow retaliates against sanctions legislation,” The Washington Post online, June 31, 2017 12:17pm