31 July 2017
Russian President Vladimir
Putin has announced that 755 staff must leave US diplomatic missions, in
retaliation for new US sanctions against Moscow.
The decision to cut staff was
made on Friday, but Mr Putin has now confirmed the number who must go by 1
September.
It brings staff levels to 455,
the same as Russia's complement in Washington.
This is thought to be the
largest action against diplomatic staff from any country in modern history,
says the BBC's Laura Bicker in Washington.
The number includes Russian
employees of the US diplomatic missions across Russia, the BBC's Sarah
Rainsford in Moscow adds.
Staff in the embassy in Moscow
as well as the consulates in Ekaterinburg, Vladivostok and St Petersburg are
affected, she says.
The US said the move was a
"regrettable and uncalled for act".
"We are assessing the
impact of such a limitation and how we will respond to it," a state
department official said.
It is not known exactly how
many US citizens are employed in the diplomatic missions currently. However, a State Department Inspector
General's report in 2013 said more than 900 staff members were "local
hires", with only 301 "direct-hire" staff, meaning it seems
likely a far lower number than 755 will be actually forced to leave Russia.
Mr Putin did strike a
conciliatory note, saying he did not want to impose more measures, but also
said he could not see ties changing "anytime soon".
Mr Putin told Russian
television: "More than 1,000 people were working and are still
working" at the US embassy and consulates, and that "755 people must
stop their activities in Russia".
Russia has also said it is
seizing holiday properties and a warehouse used by US diplomats.
Mr Putin suggested he could
consider more measures, but said: "I am against it as of today."
He also noted the creation of
a de-escalation zone in southern Syria as an example of a concrete result of
working together.
However, in terms of general
relations, he added: "We have waited long enough, hoping that the
situation would perhaps change for the better.
"But it seems that even
if the situation is changing, it's not for anytime soon."
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