Russia has put the U.S. on its list of "unfriendly" states, Russian news agency TASS reported on Monday, quoting Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The move comes amid an escalating diplomatic row between Russia and several European countries.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to limit the number of local staff working at foreign diplomatic missions and other agencies, and ordered the government to draw up a list of "unfriendly" states that will be subject to the restrictions.

"The whole story began with another wave of unfriendly U.S. steps," TASS quoted Zakharova as saying on Monday.

"Naturally, the U.S. is on this list," she added.