Russia starts to push back against sanctions
MOSCOW — Russia took its first steps Friday to retaliate against proposed U.S. sanctions for Moscow’s suspected meddling in the 2016 election, seizing two U.S. diplomatic properties and ordering the U.S. Embassy to reduce its staff by September.
The moves, which Russia had been threatening for weeks, came a day after the U.S. Senate approved a measure to expand economic sanctions against Russia, as well as against Iran and North Korea. The bill, mirroring one passed by the House on Tuesday, was sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, and the White House indicated Friday night that he will sign it.
The number of U.S. targets inside Russia for Kremlin retaliation is limited, particularly if Moscow is worried about damaging the investment climate or about other economic fallout.
External arenas, however, are a different matter. Moscow might have shown some restraint in eastern Ukraine or in Syria because of the expectation of improving ties with Washington, but now the Kremlin might be looking for places to challenge the U.S.
Referring to the vote by Congress to toughen the sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: ‘‘This yet again attests to the extreme aggressiveness of the United States when it comes to international affairs.’’
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said the Russian leader approved the retaliatory measures despite saying a day earlier that he would wait for the final version of the law before taking any such steps.
It had been unclear whether Trump would sign the legislation, but given the investigations into possible collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin, and considering that the GOP has majorities in the House and Senate, he was under considerable pressure to do so.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the U.S. Embassy was asked to reduce its diplomatic and technical staff members in Russia to 455 by Sept. 1, matching the number of Russian diplomats in the U.S.