Belarus announced on Thursday that it would cut staff members of the United States embassy in its capital city Minsk as part of the retaliatory sanctions.

The country's foreign ministry said in a statement that it would reduce the number of both "diplomatic and administrative-technical" staff at the embassy without specifying the number of staff that will be affected.

Spokesperson Anatoly Glaz also announced that visa procedures for U.S. citizens working there would also be tightened.

The retaliation came after the U.S. introduced a series of sanction measures against Belarusian officials and some state-owned businesses over the Ryanair flight diversion incident.

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Late last month, Irish airline Ryanair said that flight FR4978 from Athens to Vilnius was directed to an airport in Minsk on Sunday as crew on the plane had been alerted to a possible security threat by Belarusian authorities, adding that nothing untoward was found, but a Belarusian blogger was arrested onboard after the plane landed in Minsk. 

Washington immediately slapped sanctions against Belarus, along with the UK, Ireland, and several other European countries.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that U.S.'s punitive measures would only "hurt ordinary Belarus citizens."

"These actions are illegal, contradict international law and are aimed at putting pressure on a sovereign state," he said in a statement.