Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t congratulate his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on his country’s Independence Day holiday, the Kremlin said Monday.
“This is because this year, the U.S.’ unfriendly political discourse towards Russia has reached its culmination point,” Interfax quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying to reporters.
“Under this circumstance, sending such a congratulatory message is hardly appropriate,” he added.
The already tense relationship between the two states has worsened further since Russia invaded U.S. ally Ukraine in February, an act that sparked rounds of harsh sanctions on Moscow from Washington.
In March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the relationship between the Kremlin and the White House was “on the verge of a breakup.” Ryabkov said that the only way to “save” it would be for the U.S. to halt the supply of weapons to Ukraine and, instead, “project positive influence on Kyiv.”
The Kremlin hasn’t sent a message of congratulations to an American leader on Independence Day since 2020, during Donald Trump’s presidency.
