Russia–United States relations

North Macedonia has declared a diplomat from the Russian embassy in Skopje persona non grata, official sources confirmed for news site MKD.mk.

 Russia has proposed arms control and security talks for President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden to meet.

The leadership in Moscow is still waiting for a response from Washington to such a summit, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday at a virtual UN conference on disarmament.

Bulgarian Ambassador to Russia Atanas Krastin, who paid a visit to the Russian Foreign Ministry earlier on Tuesday, received a note about Moscow's response to the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Sofia.

Russia asked 10 U.S. diplomats to leave the country in retaliation for Washington's expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats over alleged malign activity and suggested the U.S. ambassador return home for consultations.

The United States on April 15 imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia, including curbs to its sovereign debt market, to punish it for interfering in last year's U.S. election, cyber hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged malign actions.

The Biden administration on April 15 announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against nearly three dozen people and companies as it moved to hold the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year's presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies.

The Biden administration is preparing to announce sanctions in response to a massive Russian hacking campaign that breached vital federal agencies, as well as for election interference, a senior administration official said.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Moscow always hoped for the best but prepared for the worst when it was asked about the possibility of a new Cold War between the United States and Russia.

"It's the first time that an espionage ring has been busted in Bulgaria. We have evidence gathered through special intelligence tools.

Their criminal activity endangers our national security," stated spokesperson for the Prosecutor General Siyka Mileva in connection with the detained servicemen who participated in an espionage ring as quoted by BGNES

U.S. President Joe Biden must apologize and take back "boorish" allegations that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is a killer, a top Russian official said, a day after Moscow recalled its ambassador in protest.