A congressional sanctions package that targets Russia is triggering icy resentment from the Kremlin, with top officials there warning of further retaliation and worsening relations between Moscow and Washington.
The Kremlin announced that it would cut more than 700 U.S. diplomatic employees and seize two diplomatic properties days after the bill breezed through both chambers of Congress.
“We do not intend to leave U.S. actions unanswered,” Russian president Vladimir Putin said Sunday.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had expressed hope after the bill’s passage that the U.S. and Russia would cooperate and that eventually, the sanctions would “no longer be necessary.” The Kremlin’s retaliatory move seemed to snub that show of optimism.
“The Russian government has demanded the U.S. Mission to Russia limit total mission staffing to 455 employees by September 1. This is a regrettable and uncalled for act,” a State Department official told TWS. “We are assessing the impact of such a limitation and how we will respond to it.”
President Donald Trump has also stressed the need to “move forward” and work constructively with Russia. And while Putin said Sunday that areas of mutual cooperation still exist between the two countries, he expressed broad pessimism about the state of relations.
“We waited for quite a long time that maybe something would change for the better,” Putin said. “We had this sort of hope that the situation would somehow change. But, judging by everything, if it does change, it will not change soon.”
The Russian leader added that while Russia has further options available for pushback against the U.S., he is currently against using them.Hours earlier, his deputy foreign minister described the measures announced this weekend as “long, long overdue.”
“If the U.S. side decides to move further towards further deterioration, we will answer, we will respond in kind,” Sergei Ryabkov said on ABC’s This Week. “We will mirror this. We will retaliate.”
“But my call, and my whole point is: don’t do this,” he added. “It’s to the detriment of the interests of the U.S.”
Asked about further retaliatory moves, he said Russia has a “very rich toolbox” at its disposal. At the same time, he said that areas of cooperation between the U.S. and Russia do exist.
“We are ready. We are stretching our hand forward,” Ryabkov said. “We are hopeful that someone on the other side, President Trump included, but also others, may see here a chance for a somewhat different way.”
The legislation punishes Russia over its interference in the 2016 election, military moves in Ukraine, and support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, among other activities. It also targets Iran and North Korea. The White House said Friday that the president, who was facing a likely veto-proof majority in Congress, would sign the legislation..
Vice President Mike Pence expressed support for the bill this weekend during a trip to Estonia.
“The president has made it very clear that Russia’s destabilizing activities, support for rogue regimes, and its activities in Ukraine are unacceptable,” he said Sunday. “The president made very clear that very soon he will sign sanctions from the Congress to reinforce that.”
Putin delayed responding to December measures by then-president Barack Obama that hit the Kremlin for election interference. The Russian leader decided instead to “plan our further steps to restore Russian-U.S. relations based on the policies of the Trump administration.”
