Russia is preparing a response to new package of US sanctions and last year's expulsion of diplomats
The Russian government is preparing measures in response to a package of new US sanctions and the expulsion of diplomats from the United States in December 2016, an official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said in an interview with Rossiya [Russia] 1 TV.
Maria Zakharova said that the response "will have a very solid base." "The response measures are being prepared. This, as you understand, will not be decided only in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," she added.
In December 2016, the US expelled 35 Russian diplomats and members of their families in response to attacks on US diplomats in Moscow and "in response to actions that do not correspond to diplomatic practice."
The residences of the Russian embassy in New York and Maryland were also closed. On December 29, 2016, the administration of Barack Obama imposed sanctions "against the FSB and the GRU." Russia did not expel American diplomats in response to US actions.
On June 20, 2017, the United States imposed sanctions against 38 Russian individuals and legal entities connected to the annexation of the Crimea by Russia and military action in the southeast of Ukraine.
The sanctions included the Wagner private military company, companies of the businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Crimea Sergey Nazarov and other individuals and organizations. A full list of organizations and individuals that have fallen under the sanctions is provided on the official website of the US Ministry of Finance.