Why Obama 'boxed-in' Trump with Russian sanctions

One day after President Obama announced a series of sanctions against Russia for tampering with the US election – and that 35 suspected spies would be given 72 hours to leave the country – Russia announced Friday that its own, tit-for-tat diplomatic retaliation was in the works.

That was pending required approval by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in the end chose to send perhaps an even stronger message by not expelling US diplomats at all, signaling that he is content biding his time until America’s new president takes charge Jan. 20.

President-elect Donald Trump has resolutely declined to acknowledge any Russian involvement hacking into the Democratic presidential candidate’s emails, and added that these charges are the stuff of sore-loserdom on the part of his political opponents.

Read the full article at the Christian Science Monitor.