Russian government's actions on Friday 'escalatory and regrettable' -U.S. State Dept

Russia's asking 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 was "escalatory and regrettable," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Friday.

"It is not in our interest to get into an escalatory cycle, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian retaliation against the United States," the spokesperson said.