Russia’s President: No Expulsions to Answer US Punishments

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he has decided¹ not to expel American diplomats² from his country.

Russia’s foreign minister had suggested expelling United States diplomats and other measures to answer U.S. sanctions against Russia.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama ordered 35 Russians to be expelled from the United States and other measures.

The moves came after U.S. intelligence agencies said Russia hacked³ Democratic Party computers and released stolen emails. The agencies said this was done to interfere⁵ with the U.S. presidential election.

Putin said Russia “has reasons” to take action against the U.S. But he said he will wait to “plan out further steps” based on the policies of the incoming administration. Republican Donald Trump⁶ will replace Democrat⁴ Barack Obama as president on January 20.

The Russian officials were ordered to leave the country within 72 hours. In addition, Obama ordered the closing of two Russian properties inside the U.S. He also ordered sanctions against nine Russian individuals, companies and agencies, including the Russian intelligence service.

“All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions,” Obama said in a statement. He said the “theft” of computer emails and other data, and their release through WikiLeaks, were done to “interfere” with the 2016 U.S. election.

A senior Obama administration official said the United States believes Russia “will continue to interfere” with elections in other countries” and in future U.S. elections.

Trump also released a statement after Obama’s announcement. He said, “It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.”

Trump added: “Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."

When Trump becomes president, he could move to cancel the sanctions ordered by Obama. But he might find opposition⁷ from Republicans in Congress who have called for punishments against Putin and his government.

Putin’s decision not to take action against the new U.S. sanctions came as a surprise. Just hours before Putin’s announcement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested Russia would remove 31 American diplomats and take other action.

Putin said he decided against any actions -- for now.

“The Russian diplomats returning home will spend the New Year holidays with their relatives and dear ones,” Putin said in a statement. “We will not create problems for U.S. diplomats. We will not expel anybody.”

Putin said he is inviting⁸ all children of U.S. diplomats to holiday parties at the Kremlin.

Dmitry Trenin is director of the Carnegie Moscow Center. Trenin said Putin’s decision not to act against the U.S. sanctions appears to be an “investment” in the possibility of better relations with President-elect Donald Trump. Trenin made his comment on Twitter.

Words in This Story

sanctions –n. diplomatic or economic measures taken against a country to punish it for actions considered wrong or illegal

hacking⁹ - n. to secretly get access to the files on a computer or network in order to get information, cause damage

further - adj. additional

alarm - v. to be worried

theft - n. the act or crime of stealing

nevertheless - adv. in spite of what has just been said

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

9 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。