Washington has expressed regret over Moscow's decision to cut the US diplomatic presence in Russia.
President Vladimir Putin specified that the US will have to slash its diplomatic staff in Russia by 755 people, and said it will be a "considerable" cut. The Russian Foreign Ministry suspended the use of all US Embassy warehouses and its compound in Moscow and also offered the US to cut down the number of its diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people by September 1. Moreover, the ministry said that it reserves the reciprocal right to hit US interests in response to the US sanctions bill. The move followed the US Senate's approval of a new set of anti-Russia sanctions.