PUTIN ORDERS U.S. TO CUT 755 EMBASSY WORKERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the United States will have to cut its diplomatic staff in Russia by 755 by Sept. 1 in response to expanded U.S. sanctions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry had announced Friday that it was ordering the U.S. Embassy to limit the number of embassy and consular employees in the country to 455.

Putin said he ordered the move because he “thought it was the time to show that we’re not going to leave that without an answer.”

The cuts would make the diplomatic missions in the U.S. and Moscow the same size, Putin told Rossiya 1 Network.

The Senate voted 98-2 on Thursday to approve a new package of tougher financial sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea.

The main goal was to punish Moscow for meddling in the 2016 presidential election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria.