Washington expels 35 Russian diplomats. Moscow waits for Trump
They have 72 hours to leave the country. Two buildings used by Russian intelligence also closed down. They are accused of cyber attacks that affected American elections and penalized Hillary Clinton. Obama calls on "friends and allies" to engage with Russia. A new edition of the Cold War, which favors military escalation and the economy. Trump: Let's move on.
Washington (AsiaNews) - The US State Department has declared 35 Russian diplomats from the embassy in the capital and San Francisco consulate "persona non grata", giving them 72 hours to leave the country with their families. The US also will close two buildings - in New York and Maryland - used by Russian intelligence.
The measures were announced yesterday by the outgoing President Barack Obama, accusing Russia of having influenced the US presidential election through cyber attacks against the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton campaign.
A series of e-mails embarrassing for Clinton were released by the Wikileaks channel, but the head of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has claimed responsibility exonerating the Russians.
US president-elect Donald Trump has dismissed the claims of a cybernetic attack as "ridiculous" and that it is time for America to "move on". During the election campaign Trump expressed the idea of dropping the sanctions against Russia (imposed after the invasion of the Crimea) several times and the desire for greater collaboration.
Russia has denied any involvement in the cyber-attack and called the decisions taken yesterday by the US administration "baseless".
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Washington's decision "will cause significant inconvenience to the Americans in the same areas." But it also made clear that Russia will not decide "in a hurry", waiting for "Trump to become the head of state within three weeks."
Donald Trump will assume the actual role of US president on 20 January.
Several analysts wonder why Obama took such measures just weeks from the end of his term, putting a heavy burden on the future president and his relations with Russia. According to some, such as the journalist Robert Parry, the answer lies in an attempt to foster a new edition of the Cold War, which could give way to a new military escalation, saving the economy and the existence of NATO.
In fact, the statements expressed yesterday by Obama spoke of the alliance between all the countries that ae allies of the US to counter Russian influence. "Friends and allies" of the United States, he said, must "work together to counter Russia's efforts aimed at undermining the good international practice and interfering in the democratic process."
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