Moscow says the U.S. forgot to send a holiday card for this year's ‘Russia Day’

Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, revealed on Thursday that the United States never formally congratulated Russia on its celebration of Russia Day, which the country observed on Monday. “After we heard all these public statements, it turns out that the U.S. embassy in Moscow never conveyed any formal congratulations to Russian state officials,” Zakharova told reporters on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., announced that it for the first time received no public congratulations from the U.S. government on Russia Day. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department later confirmed this information, explaining that Washington is no longer sending such congratulations publicly, and is now conveying these messages through American embassies.

Zakharova pointed out that American officials usually share similar congratulations on the U.S. State Department’s website, posting informal greetings and congratulations, though she says this practice doesn’t conform to diplomatic traditions, which assumes congratulations will be presented officially, addressed to someone specific, and signed.

The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry also noted that U.S. diplomats have recently extended online holiday congratulations to Italy, Sweden, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Portugal, and the Philippines. “It’s very hard to understand what’s going on over there. It’s an amusing situation,” Zakharova said.

• Russia celebrates “Russia Day” on June 12, when the country commemorates the beginning of constitutional reform in Soviet Russia. The holiday's theme is Russian state sovereignty.