Putin declines to expel US diplomats

Following Washington's sanction on the Kremlin, there have been contrary indications that Moscow will respond swiftly to the decision by president Barrack Obama to expelled 35 of her diplomats away from the United States in response to the supposed illegal role played during the US presidential election and some other side dealings which the State department considers as unhealthy and shameful on the part of Moscow.

The Sanction which have been greeted by mixed reaction had gotten some positive nods both from majority Republicans and democrats who described the sanctions as long overdue given the unhealthy nature of President Putin's administrational policies most especially in undermining certain US global decision and also her activities in trying to lord herself over smaller nations. 

Similarly, in a reaction to president Obama's executive decision, the Kremlin shockingly have said glaringly that they will not retaliate the actions by the United States, noting that its for the best interest of all those involved.


Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier proposed expelling 35 U.S. diplomats after outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the expulsions and sanctions on Thursday.

But Putin said he would wait for the actions of President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20, before deciding on any further steps in relations with the United States.

"We will not expel anyone," Putin said in a statement on Friday. "While keeping the right for retaliatory measures, we will not descend to the level of 'kitchen', irresponsible diplomacy."

Former CIA operative Bob Baer told CNN he believed Putin was playing a covert game intended to weaken the incoming US President and his country.

 

"I've never seen the Russians ever try to manipulate American politics like this, and so successfully, because not expelling the American diplomats right now for me is an attempt to delegitimize the new president, Trump," Baer said.

 

"The fact that (Putin) is saying, 'look, Trump is our guy, I can get along with him, I'm going to ignore the president' -- this just fuels the conspiracy theories that Trump is the Manchurian candidate,' and there are people on the left who believe it."

Obama, a Democrat, had promised consequences after U.S. intelligence officials blamed Russia for hacks intended to influence the 2016 election. Officials pointed the finger directly at Putin for personally directing the efforts and primarily targeting Democrats.

Washington put sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies, the GRU and the FSB, four GRU officers and three companies that he said "provided material support to the GRU’s cyber operations". 


Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was more outspoken in his criticism. "It is regrettable that the Obama administration, which started out by restoring our ties, is ending its term in an anti-Russia death throes. RIP," he wrote on his official Facebook page.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the Obama administration "a group of embittered and dimwitted foreign policy losers".

Obama said Americans should be alarmed by Russia's actions in the U.S. election.
"These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior," he said in a statement from Hawaii, where he is on vacation.


According to Reuters, the State Department declared as "persona non grata" 35 Russian intelligence operatives and was closing the two Russian compounds. The 45-acre complex in Maryland includes a Georgian-style brick mansion, swimming pool, tennis courts and cottages for embassy staff.
A senior U.S. official told Reuters the expulsions would come from the Russian embassy in Washington and consulate in San Francisco.