The United States forced Russia to retaliate following the expulsion of its diplomats, but Moscow remains open to building relations with other countries, spokesperson for Russian President Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

According to him, Russia was never the initiator of exchanges of sanctions and expulsions of diplomats.

“Russia was forced to take retaliatory measures in response to unfriendly, unconstructive and unlawful actions - in this particular case, the expulsion of our diplomats and the closure of the consulate by Washington. Russia remains open to building good-natured relations. We wish to have such relations,” Tass reported quoting Peskov. 

According to the spokesperson, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains a supporter of development relations with all countries, including the United States.