MOSCOW: The Russian Foreign Ministry informed the US Embassy in Moscow that 10 of its staffers must leave the country by the end of May 21 in tit-for-tat retaliation.

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it summoned deputy chief of the US mission Bartle Gorman and gave him a note declaring these people "persona non grata",  according to report Xinhua

Last week, Russia had asked 10 U.S. diplomats to leave the country in retaliation for Washington's expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats over alleged malign activity and suggested the U.S. ambassador return home for consultations.

The ministry called the decision a mirror-like response to the "unreasonable" expulsion of staffers at the Russian Embassy in Washington and the Russian Consulate General in New York.

The ministry vowed to take further steps in the near future, as announced on April 16, in response to a recent series of "illegal" US sanctions against Russia.

The ministry on Friday announced a package of countermeasures, including the expulsion of 10 US diplomats and an entry ban on eight incumbent and former American high-ranking officials.

Russia-U.S. ties slumped to a new post-Cold War low last month after Biden said he thought Putin was a "killer" and Moscow recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations.

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