Following the news from last week, when Russia complained about uneven numbers of American diplomats in the country in contrast to Russian diplomats in the United States,
Moscow finally took a position on the matter. "We reserve the right to adopt, based on the principle of reciprocity, new measures that may affect US rights," the statement warns. The decision was announced on Friday (28) and according to Russia is a measure taken in response to the latest sanctions imposed by Washington D.C. The cuts will affect American embassies in Moscow and Saint Petersburg as well as any new embassy that might come to exist in the future, on Russian soil. There were two main branches of this announcement.

The first, starting September 1, is an order to reduce the number of American diplomats to 455. The second branch, starting August 1, is an order from the Russian Foreign Ministry stating that the US embassy will not be able to use warehouses (for storage) in the Russian capital as well as the mansion in Serebrianyi Bor, used as a US diplomatic recreational house. According to Moscow, the sanctions imposed by the United States proportionate an advantageous position for the country regarding the global economic scenario. The Russian capital further stated that such blackmail represents a threat to many countries and to the global market.