The U.S. and Russian flags hang on the facade of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. File Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA-EFE
The move comes after U.S. officials said a total of more than 50 Russian diplomats and their families must leave between now and the end of June. The State Department has declined to extend the diplomats' visas.
"We view the U.S. demand as an act of expulsion and intend to resort to retaliatory measures," foreign ministry spokeswomen Maria Zakharova said, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
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The Russian Embassy is seen in Washington, D.C. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
Wednesday's expulsion announcement is the latest step back in U.S.-Russia relations, which perhaps are frostier than they have ever been since the end of the Cold War.
There are reports that Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in another bilateral meeting, perhaps virtually, early next year. The two met in Switzerland in June and have spoken on sporadically by phone since Biden took office early this year.