As Trump signals he will sign sanctions bill, Russia retaliates
MOSCOW — Russia’s Foreign Ministry ordered a reduction in U.S. diplomats in Russia on Friday and said it was closing down a U.S. recreational retreat in response to fresh sanctions against the Kremlin.
The U.S. Senate approved a new package of financial sanctions Friday against Russia, Iran and North Korea and sent it to President Donald Trump who, the White House said Friday, was willing to sign the package of stiff financial sanctions.
The White House had initially wavered on whether the president would sign the measure into law. But in a statement late Friday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had “reviewed the final version and, based on its responsiveness to his negotiations, approves the bill and intends to sign it.”
The legislation bars Trump from easing or waiving the penalties on Russia unless Congress agrees. It is aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and for its military interventions in Ukraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said, in response, it is ordering the U.S. Embassy in Russia to reduce the number of its diplomats by Sept. 1. Russia will also close down the embassy’s recreational retreat on the outskirts of Moscow as well as warehouse facilities.
The ministry said the number was being cut to 455 diplomats. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Maria Olson could not say how many people had to leave to meet the requirements.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call later Friday that Moscow was forced to respond to what he described as “illegal sanctions against Russia ... and expropriation of our diplomatic property.”