On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the United States’ (US) ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, to issue a formal letter of protest regarding US President Joe Biden’s recent comments, wherein he called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” over his decision to invade Ukraine.
In the letter, Moscow emphasised that Biden’s comments were “unacceptable,” adding that statements of this sort, particularly by a US President, are “unworthy of a statesman.” Russia made it clear that the US President’s remarks might result in a major fallout between the Cold-War enemies, warning that Russia-US relations are on the “brink of breaking off.” Moscow also cautioned Washington that it will retaliate with a “decisive and firm rebuff.”
Biden: “Putin is a war criminal!” pic.twitter.com/thBOuCXGzN
— Volodymyr Omelyan (@V_Omelyan) March 16, 2022
Furthermore, the Russian Foreign Ministry “strongly confronted” Ambassador Sullivan about the working conditions of Russian missions in the US, demanding that Washington provide guarantees that it will ensure the smooth functioning of Russian missions.
Importantly, Russia didn’t claim the words were wrong, however
— andreasgal🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@andreasgal) March 21, 2022
Later, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed that Ambassador Sullivan had met with authorities in Russia. According to Price, the American Ambassador urged the Russian government to follow international law and “basic human decency” during the meeting.
Sullivan also demanded Russia to provide all American citizens, including detainees, access to consular service, referring to the arrest of Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Moscow for over a month for allegedly smuggling drugs. Politicians in Washington believe that Moscow is using Griner as a “negotiating chip.”
We have repeatedly asked for consular access to American citizen detainees and have consistently and improperly been denied access for months. This is completely unacceptable.
— Посольство США в РФ (@USEmbRu) March 21, 2022
In addition, Price called out Russia’s double-standards over Biden’s ‘inappropriate comments,’ saying that the same country (Russia) is at the moment bombarding Ukraine and is “engaged in mass slaughter” of Ukrainian civilians.
Last week, Biden called Putin a “war criminal,” a “pure thug,” and a “murderous dictator” over the Russian leader’s “immoral war” in Ukraine that has made 3.5 million Ukrainians refugees. The Kremlin slammed the “personal insults,” forewarning that such remarks towards Putin could result in more aggression.
In the same week, Russia, for the first time, imposed counter sanctions on US officials, such as Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin over their “Russophobic” remarks. Former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Biden’s son Hunter were also placed on the “stop list.” Russia’s countersanctions served as a retaliatory response to the US-led Western sanctions that have individually targeted Putin, Kremlin officials, and Russian oligarchs.
Biden: Putin is “a murderous dictator, a pure thug” pic.twitter.com/6ocDUMG5JF
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 17, 2022
In this respect, Monday’s meeting with Ambassador Sullivan marks another instance of deteriorating ties between the two countries. Last month, Russia expelled the Deputy Chief of the US mission in Moscow, Bart Gorman, in a tit-for-tat move following the US’ expulsion of 27 diplomats from the Russian embassy in Washington last year.