US elections 2016 hacking: Obama slaps sanctions on Russia, expels 35 diplomats

Los Angeles : Russia on Thursday faced stiff action from the United Sates of America in the 2016 election hacking incident.

Barack Obama administration on Thursday expelled 35 Russian diplomats and closed two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland.

As per a senior US official the action was taken in response to a campaign of harassment by Russia against American diplomats in Moscow.

Reports also conveyed that the Russian diplomats would be given the ultimatum of 72 hours to leave the United States.

"These actions were taken to respond to Russian harassment of American diplomats and actions by the diplomats that we have assessed to be not consistent with diplomatic practice," the official told Reuters.

Officials maintained that President Obama has imposed sanctions on Russian officials and intelligence services in retaliation for Russia's interference in the U.S. presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.

The President also issued orders stating that Russians will no longer have access to two Russian government-owned compounds in the United States, in Maryland and in New York.

Russian officials will be denied access to the two compounds as of noon on Friday.

Meanwhile, Russia has denied the accusation by stating that the Putin government has not tried to influence the U.S. presidential election.

In November, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia hacked Presidential elections to help Donald Trump win.

 

However, Trump has dismissed any such accusations and called them ridiculous.