Intefax: Hundreds of U.S. diplomatic missions’ employees to leave Russia under countermeasures – source

File Photo of U.S. Embassy Moscow, with Russian Foreign Ministry Building in Distance

MOSCOW. July 28 (Interfax) – U.S. authorities will have to recall hundreds of employees at its missions in Russia in accordance with measures taken by Moscow in response to the bill on new anti-Russian sanctions passed by the U.S. Congress, a source with knowledge on the matter told Interfax.

“We are talking about hundreds, not dozens of diplomatic and technical personnel of U.S. missions in Russia,” the source told the agency on Friday.

In late December 2016, the administration of Barack Obama, who was then president of the United States, adopted a number of sanctions against Russia, including the expulsion from the country of 35 employees of Russian missions with their families. Russia did not take any measures in response.

The source told Interfax that Moscow is not expelling the same number of Americans now, but is suggesting that Washington independently reduce its number of diplomatic and political personnel to a parity level with Russia.

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