The USA announced the deportation of 35 Russian diplomats as a retaliation for the cyber-attacks Obama is accusing Russia of. The diplomats were given 72 hours to leave the country.
Also two facilities the American authorities claim that were used to facilitate the attacks are shutting down.
According to the CIA Russia attempted to influence the US elections in favor of Donald Trump.
The Russian response was quick: Russia deports 35 US diplomats in less than 24 hours after the American announcement!
The initial response from Moscow was a statement describing the US action as “unproductive” and “harmful” for the bilateral relations of the two countries. Later on Vladimir Putin decided that Russia would answer in the same manner to the USA.
These developments bring President-elect Donald Trump in a difficult position as he has made clear that he wants good relations with Russia and he had tried to play down the cyber-attack case.
But now, if Trump decides to take back this decision by President Obama, he is running the risk of being accused of weakening the US image allowing indirectly for such Russian practices to continue.
Donald Trump so far has stated that he will talk with the intelligence services of the country in order to be informed about any proofs regarding the cyber-attack case.