Russia to expel 10 American diplomats, in response to U.S. sanction, expelling Russian diplomats

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to expel 10 U.S. diplomats in response to the Biden administration's new sanctions against Russia.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Putin "moved quickly" to respond, after President Biden on Thursday placed sanctions on his country and removed 10 Russian diplomats.

The move is in response to a massive hack last year of emails from key federal agencies that has been linked to Russia.

"Nobody has canceled the principle of reciprocity in such matters, it is a fundamental principle," Peskov said, according to The Washington Post. “Yet again, everything will depend on the decision to be made by the head of state."

Peskov, amid talks of Putin-Biden summit, suggested the Russian president was more interested in improving diplomatic relations than the countries attempting to punish each other.

"President Putin talked about the feasibility of building, normalizing and de-escalating our relations," Peskov said. "He talks about it consistently. He is convinced of it. He has stated repeatedly that we are ready to develop our dialogue to the extent that our counterparts are ready to do it."