A plane carrying 35 diplomats expelled from the United States over Russia's alleged meddling in the US presidential election arrived in Moscow early on Monday, Russian state television reported.

A Russian Il-96 plane carrying the diplomats and their families landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport at 2:05 am after having taken off from Washington on Sunday, state television said.

State television showed the diplomats and their families gathering their luggage on the tarmac in the rain before heading inside the terminal.