Putin refuses to expel US diplomats and instead invites them to Kremlin party
[MIDDLEEASTEYE.NET] President Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
said on Friday he would not expel any Americans in response to Washington turfing out dozens of Russian diplomats over alleged election interference.
The Kremlin strongman's surprise decision came after Russia's foreign ministry asked him to send home 35 US diplomats in tit-for-tat retaliation for the expulsion of the same number of its staff by President Barack Obama
Because I won ...
on Thursday.
"We will not create problems for American diplomats. We will not expel anyone," Putin said in a statement, also inviting children of US diplomats to a holiday party at the Kremlin.
A calm adult vs. President Obama playing a petulant child. President Putin is enjoying his chew toy. | Putin's move was a clear sign that Moscow is pinning its hopes on President-elect Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
to help rebuild ties - which have plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War - when he takes office next month.
"We evaluate the new unfriendly steps by the outgoing US administration as a provocation aimed at further undermining Russian-American relations," Putin said.
He said Moscow would plan its next steps "based on the policies pursued by the administration of president Donald Trump," while warning that the Kremlin reserves the right to hit back.
Putin ended his message by wishing both Obama and Trump a Happy New Year and separately congratulated Trump in his New Year's message to heads of state around the world.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a total of 96 Russians, including expelled diplomats and their families, were expected to leave the United States due to the latest sanctions on Moscow, TASS news agency reported.
Posted by: Fred 2016-12-31 |