It does this after the United States did the same with 10 Russian diplomats in Washington.
Tension increases between the governments of Russia and the United States with the expulsion of 10 American diplomats who were in Russia.
This can be seen as retaliation for the expulsion of the same number of officials from his embassy in Washington, who were accused of malicious activities, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Friday.
The United States on Thursday imposed several sanctions on Moscow, including prohibiting US banks from buying sovereign bonds from the central bank, the state sovereign wealth fund and the Ministry of Finance, for interference in the November elections, computer intrusion and harassment to Ukraine.
RUSSIA DENIES ACCUSATIONS
Lavrov, in a press conference on Friday with his Serbian counterpart, laid out Russia’s response.
In addition to expelling 10 US diplomats, he said Moscow would put eight US officials on a sanctions list and end the activity in Russia of US funds and NGOs that, in his view, interfere in the country’s internal affairs.
The diplomat said Russia was also considering possible “painful” measures targeting US business in Russia.
The Kremlin had said before that nuclear powers are far apart on the sanctions issue, although Moscow, like Washington, is interested in cooperating.
US President Joe Biden, who has proposed that he and Putin meet for a summit, called late on Thursday to lower the tension following the announcement of the sanctions, saying it was vital that the White House and the Kremlin kept the lines of communication open.
“(Putin) has repeatedly said that we are willing to develop dialogue to the extent that our counterparts are willing to do so. In this sense, it is probably positive that the views of the two heads of state coincide,” he said. Russian government spokesman Dmitri Peskov to reporters.
“Their views do not categorically coincide when it comes to creating mutually beneficial relationships and taking into account the interests of the other,” he added about the sanctions.
Fear of US sanctions has caused volatility in Russian markets for weeks and sent the ruble down sharply this week. However, the national currency was regaining ground when it became clear that the sanctions did not amount to crippling measures or hampered Moscow’s ability to issue state debt.
The relationship between Russia and the United States became the most distant since the Cold War last month, after Biden said he thought Putin was a “murderer” and Moscow called its ambassador in Washington for consultations.
The envoy still has not returned almost a month later.
The sanctions were a response to suspicions of Moscow meddling in last year’s US elections, cyberbullying, harassment of Ukraine and other alleged malicious actions.
The Kremlin said Putin had not yet decided whether to participate in a US-led climate summit.