Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday decided not to expel any U.S. diplomats after Washington turfed out dozens of its diplomats over alleged election interference.
"We will not create problems for American diplomats. We will not expel anyone," Mr. Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin.
Russia reserves the "right" to retaliate to US sanctions over hacking, but will watch the policy moves of Donald Trump who enters the White House next month, Mr. Putin said.
"Reserving the right to retaliatory measures, we... will be planning our next steps in restoring the US-Russian relations based on the policies pursued by the administration of president Donald Trump," the President said in a statement released by the Kremlin.
Earlier in the day, Russia's Foreign Ministry had requested Mr. Putin to turf out 35 American diplomats from the country in a tit-for-tat to a similar move by Washington, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
