Moscow Tells US Ambassador US-Russia Ties on the ‘Verge of Breaking’

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador in Moscow on Monday in response to President Biden calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” over the invasion of Ukraine.

Over the past week, Biden has also called Putin a “murderous thug” and a “dictator.” The Russian Foreign Ministry said it handed US Ambassador John Sullivan a “note of protest” over Biden’s comments.

“It is emphasized that such statements by the American President, unworthy of a statesman of such a high rank, put Russian-American relations on the verge of breaking,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “They warned that hostile actions taken against Russia would receive a decisive and firm rebuff,” the Foreign Ministry added.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine, the US has imposed a series of harsh economic measures against Moscow and sanctioned Putin. Russia responded by sanctioning Biden, but the two countries still maintain diplomatic ties and have ambassadors in each other’s capitals.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that during the meeting with Sullivan, the US ambassador was “strongly confronted with the issue of ensuring normal working conditions for Russian diplomatic missions in the US, including guarantees for their uninterrupted functioning.”

Over the past few years, the US has been expelling Russian diplomats and placing restrictions on Russian consulates and embassies. Moscow has responded in kind, leaving fewer diplomats in each country as tensions soar.