Russia: Putin Signs Decree On Countermeasures Against ‘Unfriendly’ Countries  

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on countermeasures to "unfriendly actions" of foreign states amid an intensified diplomatic row with the US and some European countries.

In accordance with the decree published by the Kremlin, Putin ordered the government to make a list of foreign countries "committing unfriendly actions" toward the Russian Federation, Russian citizens, or legal entities, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Russia will put a cap on the number of locally hired employees and even completely ban such employment for diplomatic missions and representative offices of state bodies and institutions of the blacklisted countries. The Russian government will decide the ceiling on their local staffers. The decree has come into force immediately.

Notably, just last week the United States had expelled 10 Russian diplomats in connection with interference in the 2020 US Presidential election and for involvement in the SolarWind hack of federal agencies. Similarly, the Czech Republic had ousted 18 Russian envoys labeling them as spies, leading to Russia sending back 20 Czech diplomats.

Additionally, the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia also ordered a total of four Russian envoys to leave.

With IANS Inputs