Economy: Russia

economy: That partly reflects the fact that Russia has relatively few ways of hurting the United States, whose economy is 14 times larger, according to The Japan Times. It also reflects worries in the Kremlin about the health of the economy ahead of the presidential election next March. After U.S. lawmakers backed a new round of economic sanctions on Moscow, Russia last week ordered Washington to cut 755 of its 1,200 embassy and consular staffers and said it was seizing two diplomatic properties. ; Though an eye-catching gesture, Russia's response does not pack the same punch as the U.S. penalties, which target Russian energy projects, make it harder for U.S. President Donald Trump to ease earlier sanctions and could further restrict lending to Russia. In 2014, when the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions over Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, the Kremlin's main response was to limit Western food imports, a comparatively soft measure. Putin has not said whether he will run for a fourth presidential term in 2018, but officials expect him to do so. It was a case of the head overruling the heart, and I expect exactly the same response this time something which will cause some discomfort for the U.S. but which will not derail the Kremlin's efforts to attract international investors and grow the economy, said Chris Weafer, senior partner at Macro-Advisory consultancy in Moscow, Weafer said Putin would probably take further retaliatory steps against Washington after Trump signs the new sanctions into law but he did not think the Kremlin would target U.S. firms with close ties to Russia. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.