In response to the expulsion of these two countries from Moscow, the US State Department announced that it recognized two Russian diplomats as undesirable elements and asked them to leave the country.

A senior Russian diplomat said on Monday that the transfer of F-16 jets to Ukraine will highlight NATO's role in the conflict. He also accused the United States of subordinating the G7 to its policy of inflicting a " strategic defeat " on Russia.

A senior Russian diplomat has warned that the US and Russia are on the verge of an "open armed conflict" just two days after a suspected drone attack at the Kremlin that Moscow has blamed on Washington and Kiev.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's representative in international organizations in Vienna, announced that the meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency will begin on Monday, and Iran's nuclear program will be among the issues that will be discussed.

U.S. special envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad discussed on Friday the Afghan settlement process with Russian officials.

Russia denies involvement in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, southern England.