MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. US President Barack Obama disparaged his own country and people when he decided to expel Russian diplomats in the waning days of his term, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said.

"Today America and the American people were disparaged by their own president. This time Washington was slapped in the face by its own leader, who maximized the number of the upcoming team’s pressing problems," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook.

She described the outgoing administration as "a group of foreign policy losers, embittered and narrow-minded."

"Being unable to include any major achievements on the global arena in the history of his presidency, the Nobel Prize winner managed to close his chapter with an ugly splotch instead of an elegant period mark," Zakharova said.

She added that the whole world was watching "the devastating blow to the prestige of America and its leadership, dealt by Barack Obama and his incompetent foreign policy team."

Washington imposed fresh sanctions against Russia late on Thursday for Moscow’s alleged involvement into cyberattacks on the US electoral process. The outgoing administration sanctioned Russia’s security services, military intelligence and declared 35 diplomats persona non grata.