Russia is to expel 60 US diplomats and has ordered the closure of the US consulate in St. Petersburg, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, in retaliation for a similar move by Washington.

Lavrov, making the announcement in Moscow, said the US ambassador Jon Huntsman had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be told of the decision.

The US expelled 60 diplomats on Monday as part of a coordinated global response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, in Britain. The British government blames Russia for using a military-grade nerve agent for the poisoning, in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

More than 20 countries said they would expel more than 100 Russian diplomats over the case.

Russia has firmly denied responsibility and President Vladimir Putin has dismissed it as "delirium." Russia had already been engaged in a tit-for-tat with Britain, with both countries expelling 23 diplomats. </s> Russia has threatened to throw out British diplomats in response to Prime Minister Theresa May announcing the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats yesterday.

Russian news agency RIA report that Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has said expulsions would come "very soon, I promise you that".

Mr Lavrov has accused the UK of "fanning anti-Russian rhetoric bordering on hysteria" to win support from its allies. </s> The Russian Foreign Ministry has proposed expelling 35 American diplomats from Russia. The plan comes as a proportional response to new U.S. sanctions against Russia for its alleged hacking of institutions related to the U.S. presidential election.

According Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's proposal, Russia should expel 31 employees of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and four employees of the General Consulate in St. Petersburg. The diplomats' names were not mentioned in the proposal.

Lavrov also proposed banning U.S. Embassy employees from using both a warehouse located on Dorozhnaya Ulitsa and a dacha in Serebryany Bor.

On Thursday, the Obama administration ejected 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the United States and imposed sanctions on Russia’s two leading intelligence services. The U.S. also sanctioned four intelligence officers who belong to the military unit Washington says ordered the hacking attacks on the Democratic National Committee and other political institutions.

Earlier today, CNN reported that Russia would close the Anglo-American School of Moscow in response to the sanctions. However, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later denied that this was true. </s> MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin announced on Sunday that 755 American diplomats would be expelled from Russia by Sept. 1, escalating the tensions between Washington and Moscow.

Although the expulsions had been announced on Friday, in response to the new law passed in Congress last week expanding sanctions against Russia, the president’s statement was the first to confirm the large number of American diplomats involved.

Speaking in a television interview on the Rossiya 1 network, Mr. Putin said that Russia’s patience in waiting for improved relations with the United States had worn out.

“We waited for quite some time that maybe something will change for the better, had such hope that the situation will somehow change, but, judging by everything, if it changes, it will not be soon,” Mr. Putin said in the interview, according to Interfax news agency. </s> Lavrov said Russia would be applying the same response to other nations that also expelled Russian diplomats this week.

"Based on the principle of reciprocity, in response, 58 employees of the US Embassy in Moscow and two employees of the U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg were declared 'persona non grata' for activities incompatible with diplomatic status," Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Ryabkov said in the statement.

Ryabkov said the diplomats must leave by April 5 and that the consulate in Saint Petersburg must be closed by March 31.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a press briefing that the U.S. would not rule out responding further to Russia's latest action, signaling the possibility of a further escalation.

"We reserve the right to respond," she said.

On Monday, the U.S., the U.K., NATO and 25 other countries announced the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal in British that was allegedly orchestrated by the Kremlin.

The U.S. said it would dismiss 60 Russian diplomats identified by officials as intelligence officers, as well as close Russia's Seattle consulate. Twelve of those to be expelled were from the Russian mission to the UN, while 48 were from other places throughout the U.S. The individuals have one week since the announcement to leave.

In total, over two days, the U.S., U.K., NATO and the 27 other countries, including Georgia, previously part of the Soviet Union, expelled a total of 153 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity with Britain.

These steps, a senior Trump administration official told reporters on the condition of anonymity Monday, were intended to let the Russian government know that "when you attack our friends, you will face serious consequences."

Removing these Russians, the official said, is also a bid to reduce the "unacceptably numerous" Russian intelligence officers who reside in the United States and spy on Americans. </s> Moscow has given two Australian diplomats a week to leave Russia in retaliation for Canberra booting out two of its spies.

In a joint statement on Saturday morning, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said there is no justification for the expulsions by Russia.

"This is a disappointing, although not unexpected, reaction by the Russian Government to the decision of the Australian Government to expel two Russian diplomats working as undeclared intelligence officers," the statement said.

"Australia's action was in concert with 28 other nations expelling a total of 153 Russian diplomats in an unprecedented demonstration of global solidarity with the United Kingdom."

On Wednesday Ms Bishop announced two Russian spies had been given six days to leave Australia, in a show of solidarity with the UK over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

Labor leader Bill Shorten supported the government's decision, calling it an appropriate and proportionate response.

"The Russian Government must understand there are real consequences for engaging in attacks on foreign soil and refusing to tell the truth about them," he said in a joint statement with Labor senator Penny Wong on Saturday.

"We have to act in the way that we believe is in Australia's national interest, and on this occasion that was sending a strong signal that we reject Russia's action and we stand with our friends and allies."

Australia's ambassador to Russia Peter Tesch was among the diplomats summoned to the Russian foreign ministry on Friday to be told of the expulsions.

The diplomatic mission in Moscow has 10 staff.

In total, Russia will expel 59 diplomats from 23 countries following on the expulsion of 23 British and 60 American diplomats earlier in the week. </s> President Vladimir Putin castigated the United States Friday for bringing sanctions and expelling Russian diplomats amid allegations of Russian meddling in the American presidential election, but said no U.S. diplomats will be ousted in reprisal for Washington's moves in the wake of hacking attacks.

In a burgeoning controversy surrounding complaints from the Obama administration about a cyber assault against America's political system, the White House on Thursday unleashed a string of sanctions and coupled them with an order that 35 Russians be expelled.

In a statement Friday on the Kremlin's website, Putin referred to the sanctions as a "provocation aimed to further undermine Russian-American relations." But he also said that Moscow would not be ousting American diplomats.

"The Russian diplomats returning home will spend the New Year Holidays with their relatives and dear ones," Putin said. "At home. We will not create problems for U.S. diplomats. We will not expel anybody."

The diplomatic confrontation between Washington and Moscow, which had been festering even before the Nov. 8 presidential election elevated Donald Trump to the presidency, puts pressure on the billionaire businessman not to let Russia off the hook after he takes office on Jan. 20.

Russia's government had threatened retaliation, and it continues to deny U.S. accusations that it hacked and stole emails to try to help Trump win.

Trump said the U.S. should move on, but in a sign he was no longer totally brushing off the allegations, he plans to meet with U.S. intelligence leaders next week to learn more.

Putin's statement came hours after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested a tit-for-tat expulsion in televised remarks. He said early Friday that Russia's foreign ministry and other agencies had suggested that Putin order expulsion of 31 employees of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and four diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg. Another suggestion is to bar American diplomats from using their summer retreat on the outskirts of Moscow and a warehouse south of Moscow.

But in the website remarks, Putin said, Russia would not prevent the families and children (of diplomats) from using the customary rest and leisure facilities and sites during the New Year holidays. "Moreover, I am inviting all children of US diplomats accredited in Russia to the New Year and Christmas parties in the Kremlin," he said.



President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered sanctions against the GRU and FSB, leading Russian intelligence agencies the U.S. said were involved. In an elaborately co-ordinated response by at least five federal agencies, the Obama administration also sought to expose Russia's cyber tactics with a detailed technical report and hinted it might still launch a covert counterattack.

"All Americans should be alarmed by Russia's actions," said Obama, who was vacationing in Hawaii. He added, "Such activities have consequences."

He said the response wasn't over and the U.S. could take further, covert action -- a thinly veiled reference to a counterstrike in cyberspace the U.S. has been considering.

Yet the sanctions could easily be pulled back by Trump, who has insisted that Obama and Democrats are merely attempting to delegitimize his election.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev charged earlier Friday that Washington has become immersed in "anti-Russian death throes."

Medvedev, who focused on improving U.S.-Russia ties when he was president from 2008-2012, called the latest diplomatic breach "sad" in a Twitter post.

As part of the punishment levelled against Moscow, the U.S. kicked out 35 Russian diplomats, in response to Russia's harassment of U.S. diplomats. They also shut down Russian recreational compounds in New York and Maryland that U.S. officials said were being used for intelligence.

It was the strongest action the Obama administration has taken to date to retaliate for a cyberattack, and more comprehensive than last year's sanctions on North Korea after it hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment. The new penalties add to existing U.S. sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine, which have impaired Russia's economy but had limited impact on Putin's behaviour.

Russia called the penalties a clumsy yet aggressive attempt to "harm Russian-American ties." Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would take into account the fact that Trump will soon replace Obama as it drafts retaliatory measures.

U.S. relations with Russia have suffered during Obama's years in office as he and Putin tussled over Ukraine, Edward Snowden and Russia's support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, took to Facebook to call the Obama administration "a group of foreign policy losers, angry and ignorant."

It was unlikely the new sanctions, while symbolically significant, would have a major impact on Russian spy operations. The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets and block Americans from doing business with them. But Russian law bars the spy agencies from having assets in the U.S., and any activities they undertake would likely be covert and hard to identify.

"On its face, this is more than a slap on the wrists, but hardly an appropriate response to an unprecedented attack on our electoral system," said Stewart Baker, a cybersecurity lawyer and former National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security official.

Indeed, senior Obama administration officials said that even with the penalties, the U.S. had reason to believe Russia would keep hacking other nations' elections and might well try to hack American elections again in 2018 or 2020. The officials briefed reporters on a conference call on condition of anonymity.

Though the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint report on "Russian malicious cyber activity" -- replete with examples of malware code used by the Russians -- it still has not released a broader report Obama has promised detailing Russia's efforts to interfere with U.S. elections.

The report has been eagerly anticipated by those hoping to make it politically untenable for Trump to continue questioning whether Russia was really involved. But U.S. officials said those seeking more detail about who the U.S. has determined did the hacking need look only to the list of sanctions targets, which includes the GRU head, his three deputies, and two Russian nationals wanted by the FBI for cybercrimes.

The move puts Trump in the position of having to decide whether to roll back the measures once in office, and U.S. officials acknowledged that Trump could use his executive authorities to do so. Still, they suggested that building the case against Russia now would make it harder for Trump to justify easing up.

U.S. allegations of hacking have ignited a heated debate over Trump's approach to Russia and his refusal to accept the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia's government was responsible and wanted to help him win. Though U.S. lawmakers have long called for Obama to be tougher on Russia, some Republicans have found that position less tenable now that Trump is floating the possibility of closer ties to Moscow.

"While today's action by the administration is overdue, it is an appropriate way to end eight years of failed policy with Russia," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia was trying to help Trump when hackers connected to the government breached Democratic Party computers and stole tens of thousands of emails that were then posted on WikiLeaks, some containing embarrassing information about Democrats. Clinton aide John Podesta's emails were also stolen and released publicly in the final weeks of the campaign. </s> More than two dozen nations on three continents this week vowed to boot out Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England, including the U.S. which is expelling 60 envoys.The United Kingdom earlier this month sent home 23 Russian diplomats -- after saying Russia was behind the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England.Since Monday, the following 27 countries and NATO have said that they, too, are expelling Russian diplomats, bringing the total being sent home to Russia to at least 152.60 diplomats (and it said it would close Russia's consulate in Seattle)13 diplomats7 diplomats will have accreditation withdrawn, three others' pending accreditation requests have been denied4 diplomats (and denying three others' applications)4 diplomats4 diplomats4 diplomats3 diplomats3 diplomats3 diplomats2 diplomats2 diplomats2 diplomats2 diplomats: 2 diplomats2 diplomats1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat1 diplomat (and withdrawing the status of one honorary consul)The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk , suggested there could be more measures to come.Russia's foreign ministry on Monday issued a statement today protesting the U.S. and European expulsions of Russian diplomats, calling it a "provocative step" and warning that it will respond. Moscow did not say explicitly how it would act, but after the U.K. kicked out 23 Russian diplomats this month, Russia expelled the same number of British diplomats."Rest assured, we will respond," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday, without offering specifics. "No one would want to tolerate such obnoxiousness and we won't either."Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were found slumped over, unconscious on a park bench in the southern English town of Salisbury. The U.K. has accused Russia of bearing responsibility for the March 4 attack, which British officials say involved a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed secretly by Russia -- an assessment shared by the United States.Russia has denied any involvement. </s> President Vladimir Putin resisted a call Friday to expel U.S. diplomats in response to a new round of election-related sanctions against Russia.

The move goes against the advice of Putin's foreign minister and signaled the Russian leader's apparent willingness to wait until the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump to restore wounded U.S.-Russia relations.

In a potential tit-for-tat action, Sergey Lavrov earlier Friday called for the expulsion of 35 U.S. diplomats and the closure of two facilities in Moscow after Washington on Thursday sanctioned Russian intelligence officials, expelled 35 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies and shut down two Russian facilities in the United States over evidence Russia interfered in this year's presidential election.

"We will not create problems for U.S. diplomats," Putin said in a statement. "We will not expel anybody." Putin said the fresh U.S. measures contravened "the fundamental interests of both the Russian and American people."

In a further mark of apparent appeasement, the Russian president invited the children of U.S. diplomats in Russia to a New Year's Eve party in the Kremlin.

Lavrov called for the expulsion of 31 employees at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and four in the U.S. consulate in Saint Petersburg. He added that the foreign ministry submitted a proposal to Putin to bar U.S. diplomats from using two facilities in Moscow — a vacation house and a warehouse.

He said that claims by President Obama's administration that Russia was behind cyber-attacks that targeted the U.S. election were "groundless."

"The outgoing U.S. administration of Barack Obama accusing Russia of all mortal sins, trying to blame us for the failure of its foreign policy initiatives, among other things, has put forward additional accusations without any grounds whatsoever that the Russian state was behind attempts to meddle in the U.S. election campaign, which led to the defeat of the democratic candidate," he said in a speech. "We, of course, cannot leave insults of this kind unanswered."

But the lack of a response Friday does not mean Russia will not take any counter-measures. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, promised late Thursday that Russia would "cause serious discomfort to the American side" as a result of the sanctions.

The last time the U.S. expelled Russian diplomats on this scale was in 2001, when 51 were ejected for spying.

The dispute is another example of an increasingly frosty diplomatic relationship between Moscow and Washington that has suffered major setbacks during Obama's tenure and recalled Cold War-era animosity over differences over Moscow's support for separatists in Ukraine and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

After Lavrov's comments, the Russian embassy in the United Kingdom tweeted an image of a hand, apparently located in the U.S., throwing a boomerang bearing the words "Anti-Russian Sanctions" toward Russia. The tweet added: "MFA: American people humiliated by its own President," referring to the ministry of foreign affairs.

President-elect Donald Trump has called the hacking claims "ridiculous" and said Americans should "get on with their lives." That view does not appear to be widely supported by the majority of Democratic and Republican politicians.
After 35 Russian diplomats are expelled from the United States, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov recommends expelling 35 American diplomats. Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects Lavrov's recommendation and expresses a desire to restore relations between the two countries.