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Russia to respond if US insists on departure of 55 Russian diplomats — senior diplomat

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman said that the US currently has 130 diplomatic personnel in Russia

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. Moscow resents Washington’s demand that 55 employees of Russian diplomatic missions should leave the country and will respond to it, if the situation is not settled, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Monday. 

"It is literally beyond comprehension," he said. "Naturally, we will respond. If we fail to stabilize the status quo and they keep on insisting on it, response measures will be inevitable."

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that the United States currently has 130 diplomatic personnel in Russia, while less than 200 diplomats and technical personnel are working at Russia’s embassy in Washington and two consulate generals in New York and Houston and 55 employees are to leave the United States within months.