- Title: Obama orders Russia expulsions, sanctions for interference in 2016 election
- Date: 29th December 2016
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (FILE - AUGUST 16, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RUSSIA'S FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICE (FSB) HEADQUARTERS MOSCOW, RUSSIA (FILE - NOVEMBER 13, 2014) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING RUSSIAN COAT OF ARMS ON BUILDING MOSCOW, RUSSIA (FILE - MAY 15, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SIGN READING IN RUSSIAN 'FOREIGN MINISTRY OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION' RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY WINDOWS RUSSIAN FLAG METAL STAR ON RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY ENTRANCE DOOR
- Embargoed: 13th January 2017 21:40
- Keywords: Russia Moscow Foreign Ministry FSB USA sanctions
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0015EXTFEV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: President Barack Obama on Thursday (December 29) ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and sanctioned Russian intelligence officials who Washington believes were involved in hacking U.S. political groups in the 2016 presidential election.
The measures, taken during the last days of Obama's presidency, mark a new low in U.S.-Russian relations which have deteriorated over serious differences on Ukraine and Syria.
"These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behaviour," Obama said in a statement from vacation in Hawaii.
It was not immediately clear whether President-elect Donald Trump, who has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and nominated people seen as friendly toward Moscow to senior administration posts, would seek to roll back the measures once he takes office on Jan. 20.
Obama is seeking to deter Russia and other foreign governments from leveraging cyber attacks in the future to meddle in U.S. politics, former officials and cyber security experts said.
Obama has been under growing pressure from within his own administration and lawmakers of both political parties to respond more forcefully to the cyber attacks, which included leaked emails of Democratic Party operatives that became part of the media coverage in the campaign for the Nov. 8 presidential election.
The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday the sanctions were counter-productive and would harm the restoration of bilateral ties. Moscow denies the hacking allegation.
Obama sanctioned two Russian intelligence agencies, the GRU and the FSB, four GRU officers and three companies "that provided material support to the GRU's cyber operations. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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