MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. In its centuries-long history Russia has many times confronted various threats and managed to effectively cope with them, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday, adding this was a useful reminder to one and all, including US ambassador in Moscow Jon Huntsman, who earlier said US aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean allegedly demonstrated Russia "must cease its destabilizing activities around the world."
"I would like to address Mr. Ambassador with a reminder: Russia in its centuries-long history repeatedly confronted such threats disguised as recommendations, and each time it managed to prove they were utterly futile," Zakharova said. "Regrettably, the language of threats and sanctions became a calling card of the US Department of State lately. I believe that studying history well enough will be the best way out. This will make it possible to avoid making mistakes unforgivable for a diplomat."
Zakharova said the Russian army had successfully "cooled Napoleon’s imperial ambitions" and encroachments by other Western neighbors, for instance Karl XII, of Sweden, whose campaign in the opinion of many historians had a disgraceful ending.
"I believe it is quite symbolic the US ambassador made such a statement at the end of April, because at the beginning of May we have a good tradition of celebrating the May 9 holiday - the day of victory in the Great Patriotic War. I would like to recall that the Soviet Union played the decisive role in the defeat of the aggressor - the Hitler-led coalition. It was a war of liberation and an anti-fascist war on the global scale," Zakharova said. "Possibly, Mr. Ambassador would like us to have some other occasion we may wish to celebrate. To tell you truth, we haven’t had anything like that on our agenda yet."
Earlier, Huntsman said while observing The USS Abraham Lincoln kick off a combat training operation that "each of the carriers operating in the Mediterranean at this time represent 100,000 tonnes of international diplomacy."
"Diplomatic communication and dialogue coupled with the strong defense these ships provide demonstrate to Russia that if it truly seeks better relations with the United States, it must cease its destabilizing activities around the world," Huntsman added.