On Friday, Russia imposed retaliatory sanctions against the US, including ordering them to cap their staff at the US Embassy in Moscow to 455 by September 1. At the time, this was estimated to be around 100 people having to leave.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, told Russia-24 television that well in excess of a thousand people were working at the embassy, and that the new cap would mean some 755 US diplomats are going to have to leave the country to meet this cap.
The retaliatory move came a day after the Senate passed new sanctions against Russia, but was primarily retaliation against a move back in December, in which then-President Obama expelled Russian diplomats from the US and seized a pair of diplomatic compounds.
Russia has complained in recent weeks that there are “too many America spies” in Moscow. This was seen as a response to this concern, because like most countries, the US uses diplomatic credentials as a way to give its spies legal immunity.
Are these numbers comparable, in terms of relative US and Russian staff sizes, before or after the forced reductions?
They are. After the 1st off September US’s oversized staff (They had several hundreds more “diplomats” (spies & regime changers, 1500)) will be exactly the same as Russia’s.
The “opposotion” in Russia btw somehow just happens to gravitate exactly were the US’s embassy and consulates are, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok…
They like to close to their paymasters…
If Putin wanted to retaliate Obama’s move, he would have done it long ago. This is happening because he has f**king had enough. We keep pushing him into corners.
He realizes “appeasement” which began with no meaningful counter-measures to the US as a result of the US bombing of Serbia, has only made Russia’s situation worse.
The rotten establishment thought they could divide and conquer Russia and China but have failed miserably. Now big mouth Feinstein and the Democrats are bashing China. They thought they could bully Russia and say nothing about China hoping China would drop Russia but nope. Instead the two are steadfast in their relationship and demonstrated it by holding huge military parades.
The Dragon and the Bear know that they are far stronger when united against Murican sedition than they would be divided. China knows that if Mordor on the Potomac were to somehow succeed in dominating Russia, their dreams of a friendly integrated Eurasia would be dust.
I’m reading that of the 755 diplomats, the US can include locals working there. Russia says it is up to the US to decide who to get rid of.
Diplomatic Credentials are also, notably and demonstrably, used to smuggle weapons to terrorists. See here: https://trud.bg/350-diplomatic-flights-carry-weapons-for-terrorists/