Moscow preparing retaliatory measures for US seizure of compounds

Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said that Moscow is preparing retaliatory measures in response to former President Obama’s decision in December to seize two Russian diplomatic compounds, Reuters reported.

“Retaliatory measures are being prepared. As you understand, such a decision on the issue won’t be made only by the foreign ministry,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

It was not immediately clear what such measures would include. But Zakharova said that any retaliation shouldn’t come as a surprise to the U.S., according to Reuters.

{mosads}The U.S. seized two Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and New York and expelled 35 Russian diplomats in December as punishment for the Kremlin’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.

Obama said at the time that the compounds were being used for “intelligence-related purposes.”

The Kremlin has rejected assertions by the U.S. intelligence community that it sought to run a hacking and influence campaign aimed at disrupting the election and swinging the race in now-President Trump’s favor.

But the Trump administration has reportedly floated the idea of returning the compounds to Moscow’s control, proposing to Russian officials last month that the U.S. would consider returning the compounds in exchange for permission to resume construction on a U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg.