US policymakers need to calm down, maybe do some yoga and accept that Crimea is now part of Russia, a senior Russian diplomat said yesterday in unusually caustic remarks directed at Moscow’s former Cold War-era adversary.
Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region last month has deepened the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War ended two decades ago. The West has imposed sanctions on officials and businessmen believed to be close to President Vladimir Putin.
Many of those blacklisted have mocked the sanctions, wearing them as a badge of honour, but they have also rankled Moscow, with officials warning the West was only doing damage to itself.
“What can one advise our US colleagues to do? Spend more time in the open, practice yoga, stick to food-combining diets, maybe watch some comedy sketch shows on TV,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax news agency.
“This would be better than winding oneself up and winding up others, knowing that the ship has already sailed ... Tantrums, weeping and hysteria won’t help.”
His remarks followed disclosure by US officials that Washington had added space agency Nasa to a list of US entities banned from contacting Russian government envoys, a largely symbolic gesture to raise pressure on Russia.
The ship has already sailed... Tantrums, weeping and hysteria won’t help
Ryabkov said such a freeze in bilateral contacts had caused “ridiculous situations” when meetings between meteorologists from both countries had to be cancelled.
“Oh well, that’s the Americans’ choice,” he said.
“One can see that the US leadership is ‘fixated’, and they fail to accept the situation which has been shaped largely by the line [pursued] by the US and their European allies to bring anti-Russian forces into power in Ukraine.”
A referendum held in Crimea last month after Russian troops seized control of the Russian-majority region overwhelmingly backed union with Russia, but was denounced by Washington and the European Union as a sham amounting to a land grab. The vote opened the way for annexation within a week.
Russia intervened in Crimea after the toppling of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych following deadly clashes between riot police and protesters trying to overturn his decision to spurn a trade and cooperation deal with the EU in favour of cultivating closer relations with old Soviet master Moscow.