Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Sunday the staff at US diplomatic missions in Russia will be cut in response to a sanctions bill the US Congress passed last week. Russian state media quoted Putin saying 755 out of "a thousand or so" employees will "have to stop their activities in the Russian Federation." That includes diplomats and technical workers, he said. The Russian President sought to reduce the number of US diplomats operating in Russia to 455, a figure equal to the number of Russian diplomats in the United States, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday. The statement gave a deadline of September 1 for the staff cuts. read more http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/30/politics/russia-us-diplomatic-missions/index.html
