“Tit for tat” scenario can be avoided

Deputy Chief of the Defence Committee of the Russian State Duma, member of the Yabloko faction Alexei Arbatov thinks that Russian officials should not take "adequate measures" in response to a possible expulsion of 50 Russian diplomats from the USA, as this can lead to an escalation of tensions between the two countries. I his opinion, such diplomatic tensions should be settled not by means of "tough administrative decisions," but through negotiations of heads of the two countries. Mr. Arbatov emphasized that Vladimir Putin and George Bush can agree "to stop this stupid unreasonable confrontation," which has been overshadowing the relations between Russian and the USA lately. We shouldn't dramatize the incident with the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the USA, Mr. Arbatov thinks. Each time, when new administrations came to power in the USA, the bilateral relations between Russia and the USA became more tense. However, the situation calms down afterwards all the time.