Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement Friday that he will not be expelling American diplomats from Russia and that it is “regrettable” the Obama administration is ending its term with additional sanctions against Russia.
“We regard the recent unfriendly steps taken by the outgoing US administration as provocative and aimed at further weakening the Russia-US relationship. This runs contrary to the fundamental interests of both the Russian and American people,” Putin said.
He said that Russia has “reasons to respond in kind,” but they will not “resort to irresponsible ‘kitchen’ diplomacy.” He added that Russia “will plan our further steps to restore Russian-US relations based on the policies of the Trump Administration.”
The statement from Putin strikes a different tone than Russia’s initial reaction to President Barack Obama’s announcement that 35 Russian diplomats would have to leave the United States, in addition to sanctions on Russian intelligence services. At the time, the Russian embassy quoted Putin’s spokesman as saying Obama’s actions are “illegal” and the embassy added in a tweet that the sanctions won’t be left “unanswered.”
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday that the CNN report Thursday that the Russian government has ordered the closing school of a school in Moscow for the children of American, British, and Canadian diplomats is false.
“The diplomats who are returning to Russia will spend the New Year’s holidays with their families and friends. We will not create any problems for US diplomats. We will not expel anyone. We will not prevent their families and children from using their traditional leisure sites during the New Year’s holidays,” Putin went on to say in his statement.
He added, “It is regrettable that the Obama Administration is ending its term in this manner.”