Russia BANS Biden's AG Merrick Garland And FBI’s Christopher Wray

"Russia on Friday responded in kind to a barrage of new U.S. sanctions, saying it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will add eight U.S. officials to its sanctions list and move to restrict and stop the activities of U.S. nongovernment organizations from interfering in Russia’s politics.

He said the Kremlin suggested that U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan follow the example of his Russian counterpart and head home for consultations. Russia will also move to deny the U.S. Embassy the possibility to hire personnel from Russia and third countries as support staff.

The moves follow the sanctions on Russia announced this week by the Biden administration.

While the U.S. wields the power to cripple the Russian economy, Moscow lacks levers to respond in kind, although it potentially could hurt American interests in many other ways around the globe.

Lavrov noted that while Russia could take “painful measures” against American business interests in Russia, it wouldn’t immediately move to do that"

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