July 18, 2017 / 2:48 PM / 4 days ago
Russia says ready to retaliate after U.S. talks end without deal
3 Min Read
MOSCOW
(Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that it reserved the right to
retaliate against the United States after a meeting in Washington ended
without an agreement to return Russian diplomatic property the U.S. had
seized.
Barack Obama, then U.S. president,
ordered the seizure of two Russian diplomatic compounds in New York and
Maryland and the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats in December over what
he said was their involvement in hacking the 2016 U.S. presidential
election campaign, something Russia flatly denies.
President
Vladimir Putin decided not to retaliate at the time, saying he would
wait to see what the new administration of Donald Trump would do.
But
Trump, besieged by a regular stream of questions about his associates'
purported links to Russia, has scant room for maneuver. He risks being
accused of being overly friendly to Moscow if he hands back the
compounds without getting something politically substantial in return.
Moscow
had said a lot would depend on the outcome of a meeting in Washington
on Monday between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and
U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon. The meeting ended without
agreement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said its patience was wearing thin.
"The
Russian side stressed (in the meeting) that if Washington does not
remove this and other irritants, including continued obstacles to the
work of our diplomatic institutions, we reserve the right to take
retaliatory measures based on the principle of reciprocity," it said in a
statement.
Russia has complained that U.S.
officials are not issuing visas to its diplomats, preventing it from
replacing its staff who were expelled in December.
Deputy
Foreign Minister Ryabkov said he had submitted a list of things that
needed to be done to improve battered US-Russia ties. Reports of a
breakthrough being close were wide of the mark, he said.
"To
say we are on the brink of finding a solution and sorting out this
situation would be an exaggeration," Ryabkov told the TASS news agency.
"Such unacceptable and contradictory actions cannot be left without a
response."
The U.S. State Department said that
the talks on areas of mutual concern had been "tough, forthright, and
deliberate, reflecting both parties’ commitment to a resolution."
But though it said the talks had reflected a spirit of goodwill, it said it was clear "that more work needs to be done."
It
said an agreement had been reached to hold talks focusing on strategic
stability and the reduction of strategic arms, however.
Additional reporting by Anton Kolodyazhny and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow and by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Larry King
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