Russia called sanctions announced by the White House Thursday “illegal” and said they won’t be left unanswered.
A U.S. official has already announced that Russia is ordering a school for the children of American, Canadian, and British diplomats to be closed, according to a CNN report. A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman denied the CNN report Friday, calling it a lie.”
President Barack Obama announced Thursday sanctions on Russian intelligence agencies, the removal of 35 diplomats from the United States and the shutdown of two Russian diplomatic retreats in the U.S.
“These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities. We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized,” President Obama said in a statement announcing the sanctions regarding alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election.
A statement from Russia’s foreign ministry said that the Obama administration is lying about Russian hackers attacking the Democratic Party and Democratic officials. Russia’s American embassy quoted Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dimitry Peskov as saying, “We will certainly respond adequately and it will be determined in line with decisions adopted by Russian President.”
“There is no doubt that Russia’s adequate and mirror response will make Washington officials feel very uncomfortable as well,” Peskov added, according to the embassy.
The embassy announced that on Friday the official Russian response to Obama’s sanctions will be announced. It said that Peskov said the actions taken by the U.S. are “illegal from an international law point of view,” and that they don’t consider it “just an unfriendly act.”
“They won’t be left unanswered,” the Russian embassy said in a tweet.
This report has been updated.