Russian Embassy in the US. (Photo: TASS)

Speaking on Solovyov Live show, Anatoly Antonov also said that 27 Russian diplomats, who were told to leave the US at the end of January 2022, were threatened with arrest if they stayed one more day.

When asked if the two countries were on the verge of severing diplomatic ties, Antonov said President Vladimir Putin would decide the next steps. He added that the embassy would work until the last diplomat to defend their national interest while trying to normalize the US-Russian relationship. 

In another development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Saturday said the US’s Bloomberg news had falsely reported that Russia attacked Ukraine. According to the Kremlin spokesman, it showed the danger posed by aggressive Western positions and that such news could lead to "irreparable consequences".