Kremlin aide says Russia may still retaliate over U.S. expulsions
A top Kremlin official said Friday that Moscow's patience is "not unlimited" and Russia may retaliate over the Obama administration's expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats following the election-hacking scandal.
Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign policy aide, said at a news briefing that Moscow is waiting for the U.S. to return Russian diplomatic property seized at the end of 2016, the Interfax news agency reports.
The Obama administration in December expelled the Russians and shut down Russian-owned compounds on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and on Long Island in New York that it said had been used for intelligence purposes.
At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not retaliate immediately and would wait at least until President-elect Trump took office before deciding what action to take.
"We decided not to respond immediately to this escapade, but no one has yet abolished the principle of reciprocity in diplomacy. ... Our patience is not unlimited," Ushakov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov raised the issue of the compounds during a Washington visit this week, he said. President Trump and Putin are scheduled to meet in Germany in July during the G20 summit in Hamburg.
"If this (return of the property) is not done, then, of course, some counter-measures by the Russian side will arise on the agenda," he said, according to the Russian-owned TASS news agency.
The issue of Russia's possible tit-for-tat response in December was central to the controversy over now-fired Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who spoke to Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak at the time the tougher measures were announced.
Flynn initially said he did not discuss Russia sanctions with Kislyak, but later conceded that the issue had come up. His prevarication both publicly and to Vice President Pence later led to his dismissal.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday he hopes the West's "obsession" over Russia would soon subside.
"This unmistakably emotional obsession — let us put it this way — with the so-called Russian factor, which is painstakingly kept afloat in the United States, is certainly regrettable," he said, according to TASS. "But on the other hand we realize that one has to be patient. This obsession will soon blow over. We do hope so."
Peskov advised everyone to remember Putin’s response to a U.S. correspondent this week in the wake of the firing of FBI Director James Comey: "We are busy with our own affairs, we live in Russia and we have our own agenda."