Putin's Decision to Respond to the U.S.: We Will Not Retaliate

Just hours after news broke regarding the expulsion of American diplomats from Moscow, reports indicate that Vladimir Putin has decided not to retaliate and will wait to see how Donald Trump behaves towards Russia. Less than 24 hours after new U.S. sanctions against Vladimir Putin's government and the expulsion of 35 of its intelligence officers from U.S. soil, media from Moscow, which had previously promised retaliation, reported that the same number of American diplomats would be expelled. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, issued an order on Thursday, January 9, to expel 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. and also imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies. U.S. intelligence and security agencies, and thus the Obama administration, accuse Vladimir Putin of personally directing efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including cyberattacks against Democrats. Russia and Vladimir Putin have denied these allegations; however, Obama acted on his promise on Thursday and announced the expulsion of Russian intelligence officers from U.S. soil. The U.S. government issued the expulsion order for these 35 individuals, who worked at the Russian embassy in Washington and the consulate in San Francisco, giving them 72 hours to leave the U.S. Additionally, U.S. officials closed two Russian-owned buildings in New York and Maryland. According to Agence France-Presse, the building owned by Russia in Maryland is a villa that the U.S. government believes has been used for intelligence activities. On Friday, news agencies including Reuters reported that Russia announced it would expel 35 American diplomats from Moscow, in addition to prohibiting remaining diplomats from using a villa and a warehouse in Moscow, the capital of Russia. These actions were proposed by Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, as retaliation to Vladimir Putin. However, reports from Moscow now indicate that Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has stated that none of the American diplomats will be expelled. Instead, Putin has said he will wait for Donald Trump's inauguration and will decide on future actions regarding U.S.-Russia relations based on Trump's behavior towards his country. While Donald Trump has not yet taken office and there are still 20 days until his presidency begins, this is not the first time Vladimir Putin has indicated he is looking forward to his presidency. During his campaign, Trump praised Vladimir Putin on several occasions, and Putin has expressed hope that Trump's presidency will mark the beginning of a new chapter in U.S.-Russia relations.