As she stated, the Americans "now have about 130 people working in Russia," while the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington and two consulates general in New York and Houston has less than 200 employees.
"Taking into account the demands put forward by Washington that another 55 of our diplomats and administrative and technical workers should leave the United States in the coming months (and this essentially means expulsion), the situation on the diplomatic" front "will only worsen," Zakharova said in a statement. published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed that every hostile action by the United States will be followed by a prompt and proportionate, but not necessarily symmetrical, response from the Russian side.
In August, the Russian diplomatic mission in the United States received a list of 24 diplomats who must leave the country.
At the end of April, the American Embassy in Russia announced that in connection with Moscow's retaliatory measures, from May 12, it would provide consular services only to Americans and in respect of a limited number of urgent cases.