Putin takes the high road:

[superbeets]

[h=1]Putin takes the high road: Russian president says he WON'T expel US diplomats in revenge for hacking sanctions - but his aides blast Obama administration as 'angry and shallow-brained losers'[/h]

• Russia's foreign minister had been calling for 35 US diplomats to be banished
• Came after White House's decision to expel 35 Russian diplomats from Moscow
• Putin stepped in to say he would not engage in tit-for-tat politics with the US
• Obama's decision comes in reaction to hacking claims during the US elections

By WILL STEWART IN MOSCOW and GARETH DAVIES and LIAM QUINN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 08:45, 30 December 2016 | UPDATED: 13:58, 30 December 2016

 

[superbeets]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will not expel 35 US diplomats in revenge for hacking sanctions imposed by White House officials.
The country's foreign minster had threatened to expel officials in retaliation to the White House's decision to banish 35 Russian officials from the US - but Putin stepped in to say he would not engage in tit-for-tat politics amid election hacking claims.
The shock move did not stop the ministry's spokeswoman from slamming the Barack Obama administration, who didn't hold back as she called them a 'group of foreign policy losers, angry and shallow-brained'.

 

[superbeets]

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Vladimir Putin decided not to tit-for-tat with Barack Obama (right) who expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the US embassy

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Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (pictured) slammed the outgoing President's team

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Television crews assemble outside the Russian embassy on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington

Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had fired back at Barack Obama's decision only to be pegged back by his leader.
The ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the US and American people were 'humiliated by their own President' in what she described as the Cold War-style measures against Moscow.
'They are the group of foreign policy losers, angry and shallow-brained,' she said.
But Putin made a shock move Friday afternoon by announcing no action would be taken against US officials.
'We will not create problems for American diplomats. We will not expel anyone,' he said in a statement released by the Kremlin.

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Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, had suggested the Kremlin should return fire by expelling 35 US diplomats

 

[superbeets]

Mr Lavrov said in televised remarks on Friday the foreign ministry and other agencies suggested President Vladimir Putin should expel 31 employees of the US embassy in Moscow and four diplomats from the US consulate in St Petersburg.
Another suggestion is to bar US diplomats from using their summer retreat on the outskirts of Moscow and a warehouse in the south of Moscow.

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John Kerry, pictured, has been praised by Russia

In a personal onslaught, she claimed Secretary of State John Kerry was not in line with what Moscow sees as draconian measures.
'The most surprising thing is that having failed to add to the history any achievements at the world stage, the Noble Prize winner managed to make a big inkblot instead of an elegant mark.
'Only Kerry deserves sympathy from this group of spoilers.
'He was not an ally, but he tried to remain professional and to keep his human dignity.'
She claimed: 'His own colleagues were mocking him, cheated on him and did not let him work.
'God save any Secretary of State from what he had to go through.
'Mr Kerry, at this hard moment for the USA let me express my solidarity with you - you have done everything possible in order to prevent foreign policy collapse in your country. '

 

[superbeets]

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also weighed in and called the new round of US sanctions against his country 'anti-Russian death throes'.
When he was president in 2008 to 2012 Medvedev focused on improving US-Russia ties in what became known as the reset policy.
He voiced disappointment with the new round of Obama's sanctions issued on Friday.
'It is sad that the Obama administration that began its life by restoring ties ends it with anti-Russian death throes. RIP,' Medvedev said on Twitter.
The Russian embassy in the UK also took to social media to react to the spat by tweeting a picture of a ‘lame duck’ with the caption, ‘President Obama expels 35 diplomats in Cold War deja-vu.
'Everybody, including the American people, will be glad to see the last of this hapless administration.’

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It was thought Russia will respond, but Vladimir Putin (pictured) appeared to take the high road

Maria Zakharova claimed US citizens were let down by the White House, and added: 'Not by international terrorists, not by troops of the enemy.
'This time Washington got a slap in the face from its own master and it increased the urgent agenda of the incoming Donald Trump team to its maximum level.'
Moscow hopes that Trump's arrival next month in the White House will gradually lead to a reset of relations between the two countries.
'That's all, the curtain falls,' she said of the Obama presidency.
'The bad performance is over.
'The whole world, from the stalls to the upper balcony, is watching the smashing blow on American prestige and its leadership made by Barack Obama and his illiterate foreign policy team, that disclosed its top secret to the world - their exceptional nature was a mask for their helplessness.
'No single enemy could do more harm to the USA.'

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Moscow will be hoping tensions will ease when Donald Trump (pictured) takes office in January

A senior pro-Putin MP, Irina Yarovaya, a deputy speaker, accused Obama of seeking 'revenge' on US voters who rejected his policies in voting for Trump over Hillary Clinton.
'The outgoing Obama administration's actions increasingly resemble a revenge on US voters and are getting more and more destructive,' she said.
'No matter how many diplomats Obama expels, it's his aggressive and Russophobe policies that were discarded by US citizens,' she said.
'By retiring with a scandal, you only demonstrate your bad manners and admit a total political defeat.'

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Russian officials have claimed Barack Obama (pictured) has humiliated the American people

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A senior pro-Putin MP, Irina Yarovaya, a deputy speaker, accused Obama of seeking 'revenge' on US voters who rejected his policies in voting for Trump over Hillary Clinton, who is pictured here making her concession speech having lost the election race to Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin has, however, taken the dramatic step to close an Anglo-American day school in Moscow just hours after President Obama announced the tough new sanctions against the country.
Putin's government announced on Thursday it was shutting the Anglo-American School of Moscow - a K-12 school chartered by the U.S., British, and Canadian embassies.
About 1,200 students from 60 different countries take classes at the school.
Founded in the Stalin era, it is chartered by the embassies of the US, Britain and Canada.

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Putin's government announced on Thursday it was shutting the Anglo-American School of Moscow - a K-12 school chartered by the US, British, and Canadian embassies

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About 1,200 students from 60 different countries take classes at the school. Pictured is a visitor conducting a lesson in a classroom with students at the school

Bloggers and online commentators attacked the decision to hit children in the threat to close the Anglo-American School in Moscow, which opened in 1949.
Mirsaid Davydov asked: 'What are kids to do with it? It is the last thing - to hit children, the ill and old people, because they are not guilty in the games of big idiots.'
Alexander Yudin said forcing the children to change schools was a 'horrible' move by Russia.
Vladimir Kruchinin commented: 'The Western press says they expelled diplomats who were listed as spies but in reality the were running the American assets of the top Russian officials.
'And our guys can hit only children and old people like in Syria.'

 

[superbeets]

Russian diplomat Dmitry Peskov reiterated on Thursday Russia was not involved in the hacking scandal and told reporters the measures signal Obama's 'unpredictable' and 'aggressive foreign policy.'
'Such steps of the US administration that has three weeks left to work are aimed at two things: to further harm Russian-American ties, which are at a low point as it is, as well as, obviously, deal a blow on the foreign policy plans of the incoming administration of the president-elect,' Peskov said.
Donald Trump responded to the sanctions, saying it is 'time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.'

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Vladimir Putin is pictured at Russia's General Staff's Main Intelligence Department (GRU) in Moscow on November 8, 2006

It echoes comments he has made publicly and on Twitter since both the CIA and FBI agreed Russia was involved in hacking during the election campaign.
But he added he'll meet with U.S. intelligence officials next week 'in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.'
Kellyanne Conway then questioned whether the sanctions are being put in place to make life difficult for her boss.
'I will tell you that even those who are sympathetic to President Obama on most issues are saying that part of the reason he did this was to quote "box in" President-elect Trump,' Conway said on CNN.
'That would be very unfortunate if politics were the motivating factor here. We can't help but think that's often true.
'All we heard through the election was "Russia, Russia, Russia". Since the election, it's just this fever pitch of accusations and insinuations.'
However, despite Trump's comments, Obama has found allies within the Republican Party who celebrated his move.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell the sanctions 'a good initial step, however late in coming.'

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Donald Trump (pictured with boxing promoter and convicted killer Don King on December 28) responded to the sanctions, saying it is 'time for our country to move on to bigger and better things'

 

[superbeets]

He then went on to accuse Obama of allowing Russia to 'expanded its sphere of influence', over the past eight years.
McConnell said: 'The Russians are not our friends,' and is promising that Congress will review accusations that Moscow interfered in the US election.
He added Congress will 'work to ensure that any attack against the United States is met with an overwhelming response'.
Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham also said sanctions against announced by the Obama administration are 'a small price' for Russia to pay for interfering with US elections, adding they will lead efforts in Congress to impose stronger punishments.

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Vladimir Putin (left) meets with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (right) and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (unseen) at the Kremlin in Moscow

McCain, of Arizona, and Graham, of South Carolina, called Russian cyberattacks on the 2016 election a 'brazen attack on American democracy' and say retaliation measures announced Thursday by Obama are long overdue.
Russian officials have denied the Obama administration's accusations that Putin's government was involved at the highest levels in trying to influence the U.S. presidential election.
U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia's goal was to help Donald Trump win - an assessment Trump has dismissed as ridiculous.

 

[SheriffJoe]

[h=1]Putin Stunner: "We Will Not Expel Anyone; We Refuse To Sink To 'Kitchen' Diplomacy"[/h]http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-30/putin-stunner-we-will-not-expel-anyone-we-refuse-sink-obamas-level

 

[SheriffJoe]

"kitchen diplomacy"

@)

 

[superbeets]

Good timing by Obama to bury the Israel debacle saving Kerry and Obama from further shaming.

 

[Dave007inVegas]

Obama has always been the dimmest bulb on the tree
but his latest actions have all but turned out the
lights.

The fact that McCain and Graham are praising his actions
tells you all you need to know.

 

[ScottL]

Co
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Common knowledge or at least I thought so that Don King murdered a man.

 

[ScottL]

'Only Kerry deserves sympathy from this group of spoilers.
'He was not an ally, but he tried to remain professional and to keep his human dignity.'
She (Russian Mouthpiece) claimed: 'His own colleagues were mocking him, cheated on him and did not let him work.
'God save any Secretary of State from what he had to go through.
'Mr Kerry, at this hard moment for the USA let me express my solidarity with you - you have done everything possible in order to prevent foreign policy collapse in your country. '

John is always a Rube/Useful Idiot

 

[SheriffJoe]

Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump

Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!
2:41 PM - 30 Dec 2016

 

[jimmythegreek]

thank god for sensible level headed leaders like putin and trump.

 

[HamGlaze]

Big Bawma, Big Bawma, Big Bad Bawma..

 

[Willie99]

Man vs boy, Putin's been kicking his ass and laughing for 8 years

The fucking idiots will say it's shameful how much we love Putin, once again showing their intellectual inferiority

We're not happy Obama is the least prepared man in the room, we're just calling a spade a spade

 

[superbeets]

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 18h18 hours ago
Russians are playing @CNN and @NBCNews for such fools - funny to watch, they don't have a clue! @FoxNews totally gets it!

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[superbeets]

The last supper: Russia reveals a consulate CHEF is one of its 35 'spies' leaving America today in Obama's 'ridiculous' Cold War-style expulsion as its 'KGB country clubs' lie abandoned after 50 years of spying

Russia officials have revealed that one of the 35 diplomats is a chef, who will be leaving America on Saturday, as two of their country clubs outside New York City and Maryland lie abandoned after President Obama's expulsion. On Thursday, Obama labeled the diplomats from the country's embassy in Washington, DC, and consulate in San Francisco 'persona non grata', giving them 72 hours to leave the US for their alleged meddling in the presidential election. According to a Facebook post by the Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco, dozens of the expelled diplomats and their families 'will fly back to Russia on Saturday'. A photo of the last dinner (MAINE IMAGE) for some of the diplomats was posted on Facebook with the caption: 'It's so difficult to remain diplomatic... but we will.' The consulate called Obama's expulsion 'bizarre and ridiculous' and mentioned that one of the expelled individuals is a chef, who 'will be leaving with his wife and two-year old son'. 'We strongly condemn the unfriendly and completely unjustified step taken by the outgoing US administration,' officials from the consulate wrote. One of the country clubs that was vacated shortly after Obama's announcement was the Upper Brookville home in Long Island.