Washington, DC. Little things count. So when the United States did not send best wishes on Russia Day, it became a diplomatic scandal, as the USA has done this every year except this one. Late word comes now that the USA “got its mind right,” and has indeed belatedly, congratgulated Russia on its holiday.
Guilty as charged says the Voice of America. The United States has now officially congratulated Russia on their national holiday, but only after a three-day delay accompanied by complaints from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On Thursday, the State Department issued a statement by the Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, in which he, on behalf of President Donald Trump and the American people congratulated “all the residents of Russia on the Day of Russia.”
The statement by the Department of State was dated June 15th, while in fact the Day of Russia is celebrated on June 12th. This delay was the reason for caustic remarks from the Kremlin, which saw this as a sign of deterioration in bilateral relations.
On June 13th, the Russian Embassy in the United States confirmed that for the first time in twenty-five years, the congratulations from US authorities on the Day of Russia hadn’t been received.
Russian Foreign Ministry officials took it in stride, one suggesting Russia might wish America well on July the 7th this year, rather than on the 4th of July itself.