Antonov: Common Sense Should Prevail to End Dangerous Game of 'Canceling Russia'

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Moscow and Washington maintained cultural and scientific contacts even during the Cold War, and hopefully, common sense will prevail to end the dangerous game of attempting to cancel Russia, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday.

"Even during the Cold War, our nations continued cultural, educational and scientific contacts," Antonov told Newsweek. "I just hope that common sense will prevail and help end the dangerous game of canceling Russia, bordering on the ideas of racial superiority."

Antonov emphasized that Rusophobia in the United States has now assumed "the worst forms of the anti-communist paranoia and witch-hunt of the McCarthy era."

"The unprecedentedly wide-spreading campaign to cancel everything Russian is accompanied by baseless and sweeping accusations against our country aimed at creating an image of Russia as an outcast," Antonov said.

On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to requests by the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics to help defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. Russia has said the special operation aims to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine and the undertaken activities solely target the country's military infrastructure.

In response, the United States and its allies have imposed comprehensive sanctions against Russia and supplied Ukraine with offensive and defensive weapons and other forms of aid. Additional sanctions packages are expected later this month.