US diplomats met Russian officials on Moscow’s response to sanctions

Washington, Apr 21 (Sputnik) US embassy officials in Moscow met with Russian officials on Wednesday to discuss the Kremlin’s response to the Biden administration’s latest round of sanctions, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press briefing.
“US embassy officials in Moscow met today with Russian officials to discuss various bilateral topics, including the Russian response to our announcement last week on April 15,” Price said. “We expect these discussions will continue in the coming days.”
Price said Russia already notified the US administration about which American diplomats had been expelled.
Price added that US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan was still in Moscow but is expected to return to the United States later this week.
Earlier this month, the United States imposed new sanctions on 32 Russian entities and individuals as part of a new round of sanctions for Moscow’s alleged cyber attacks and other hostile acts against US interests. The United States also expelled ten Russian diplomats from the country and prohibited US entities from purchasing ruble-based bonds.
According to charges laid out by the Biden administration, Russian intelligence was behind last year’s SolarWinds hack on US information technology systems. Russia was also accused of interfering in the 2020 US election and waging chemical warfare. Moscow has denied the allegations as groundless.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned the fresh round of sanctions as running contrary to the interests of the two nations. In response, Russia banned eight US citizens from entering the country, including US Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and FBI Director Christopher Wray.