You're reading: RFE/RL: Trump thanks Putin for helping cut US diplomatic staff in Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump on August 10 shrugged off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to cut hundreds of U.S. diplomatic employees from Russia and instead thanked Putin for helping him cut U.S. payroll costs.

Trump’s remarks to reporters as he vacationed at his golf resort in New Jersey were his first public response to Putin’s mandated staff cuts last month, which were among the biggest ever between the two former Cold War rivals.

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