Icy relations after US sanctions
Following an overwhelming vote for US sanctions against Russia, President Vladimir Putin has retaliated by putting out diplomatic staff and shutting down two US premises in Russia.
President Vladimir Putin said 755 US diplomats must leave Russia and warned ties with Washington could be gridlocked for a long time, in a move on Sunday that followed tough new American sanctions.
The Russian foreign ministry had earlier demanded Washington cut its diplomatic presence in Russia by September to 455 - the same number Moscow has in the US.
"More than a thousand people were working and are still working" at the US embassy and consulates, Putin said in an interview with Rossia-24 television.
"755 people must stop their activities in Russia."
Putin added that an upturn in Russia's relations with Washington could not be expected "any time soon".
"We have waited long enough, hoping that the situation would perhaps change for the better," he said.
"But it seems that even if the situation is changing, it's not for any time soon."
"The American side has made a move which, it is important to note, hasn't been provoked by anything, to worsen Russian-US relations. [It includes] unlawful restrictions, attempts to influence other states of the world, including our allies, who are interested in developing and keeping relations with Russia," Putin told channel host, Vladimir Solovyov, Sunday.
The Russian leader went on to say that there is a number of "important spheres of cooperation" between Moscow and Washington, which he hoped would not suffer because of America's anti-Russian policies. Those mostly include the joint fight against terrorism, obligations to nuclear arms control, and space projects rather than economic relations, Putin said.
"We also work together on fighting illegal migration and organised crime in a broad sense. There are also issues of cybersecurity," Putin pointed out, having also referred to joint Russia-US scientific projects in space, such as plans to jointly explore Venus.
"The main thing is that we have a multi-faceted cooperation in many fields. Of course, Moscow has a lot to say and there are a number of spheres of cooperation that we could potentially cut and it would be sensitive for the US side. But I think we shouldn't do it. It would harm development of international relations. I hope it won't get to that point. As of today, I'm against it."
Moscow has much wider trade and economic relations with China, the EU and other countries than with the US, the president added.
Putin however underlined that Moscow and Washington had recently reached "concrete" results in de-escalating the crisis in war-torn Syria, which are in the interests of the entire Middle East region.
On Thursday, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to toughen sanctions on Russia for allegedly meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Iran and North Korea are also targeted in the sanctions bill.
The law now goes to President Donald Trump who had made an improvement in ties with Russia.
Moscow on Friday ordered the US to slash its number of diplomats in Russia to 455 and froze two embassy compounds - a Moscow summer house and a storage facility in the city – as from today.
In December, the then US president Barack Obama ordered out 35 Russian diplomats and closed down two embassy summer houses that Washington said were being used by Moscow for espionage. Additional reporting by RT
NAMPA/AFP
The Russian foreign ministry had earlier demanded Washington cut its diplomatic presence in Russia by September to 455 - the same number Moscow has in the US.
"More than a thousand people were working and are still working" at the US embassy and consulates, Putin said in an interview with Rossia-24 television.
"755 people must stop their activities in Russia."
Putin added that an upturn in Russia's relations with Washington could not be expected "any time soon".
"We have waited long enough, hoping that the situation would perhaps change for the better," he said.
"But it seems that even if the situation is changing, it's not for any time soon."
"The American side has made a move which, it is important to note, hasn't been provoked by anything, to worsen Russian-US relations. [It includes] unlawful restrictions, attempts to influence other states of the world, including our allies, who are interested in developing and keeping relations with Russia," Putin told channel host, Vladimir Solovyov, Sunday.
The Russian leader went on to say that there is a number of "important spheres of cooperation" between Moscow and Washington, which he hoped would not suffer because of America's anti-Russian policies. Those mostly include the joint fight against terrorism, obligations to nuclear arms control, and space projects rather than economic relations, Putin said.
"We also work together on fighting illegal migration and organised crime in a broad sense. There are also issues of cybersecurity," Putin pointed out, having also referred to joint Russia-US scientific projects in space, such as plans to jointly explore Venus.
"The main thing is that we have a multi-faceted cooperation in many fields. Of course, Moscow has a lot to say and there are a number of spheres of cooperation that we could potentially cut and it would be sensitive for the US side. But I think we shouldn't do it. It would harm development of international relations. I hope it won't get to that point. As of today, I'm against it."
Moscow has much wider trade and economic relations with China, the EU and other countries than with the US, the president added.
Putin however underlined that Moscow and Washington had recently reached "concrete" results in de-escalating the crisis in war-torn Syria, which are in the interests of the entire Middle East region.
On Thursday, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to toughen sanctions on Russia for allegedly meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Iran and North Korea are also targeted in the sanctions bill.
The law now goes to President Donald Trump who had made an improvement in ties with Russia.
Moscow on Friday ordered the US to slash its number of diplomats in Russia to 455 and froze two embassy compounds - a Moscow summer house and a storage facility in the city – as from today.
In December, the then US president Barack Obama ordered out 35 Russian diplomats and closed down two embassy summer houses that Washington said were being used by Moscow for espionage. Additional reporting by RT
NAMPA/AFP
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