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President-elect Donald Trump has hailed the Russian President Vladimir Putin for declining retaliation against the latest moves by the Obama administration to expel diplomats.
The Russian President declined to respond to Obama administration’s move after the country’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that several US diplomats should be expelled from Russia.
However, Putin said chose not to act and invited the children of U.S. envoys to a New Year’s celebration held at a concert hall on the grounds of the Kremlin.
In the meantime, the Russian leader reserved the right to respond to the US move in the future, a decision which was welcomed by President-elect Donald Trump.
“Great move on delay (by V. Putin),” Mr. Trump wrote. “I always knew he was very smart!” Trump said in a Twitter post on Friday.
The Obama administration decided to expel 35 Russian diplomats by imposing new sanctions on Russian intelligence agencies after the Department of State said the diplomats were intelligence operatives.
The US officials are saying that the diplomats were involved in cyber attacks to interfere with the presidential election, an allegation which Russia has rejected. -KP
THE PASHTUN TIMES
