Moscow Receives No Greetings From US on Russia Day for First Time

For the first time in 25 years, Washington did not send a congratulatory message to the Russian Embassy in the United States.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States did not send congratulatory messages on the occasion of Russia Day for the first time, Russian Embassy in the United States Press Secretary Nikolai Lakhonin told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"We can confirm that we did not receive any greetings from the American side on the occasion of Russia Day. This happens for the first time as far as we remember. Make your own conclusions," Lakhonin said.

Earlier, two sources in the diplomatic mission told Sputnik that the embassy received no congratulatory messages from the United States for the first time in 25 years.

The Russian Federation celebrates Russia Day on June 12. In 1990, the first Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted on that day a declaration on the republic’s sovereignty within the Soviet Union.

The Supreme Soviet of Russia passed a resolution in 1992 designating June 12 a public holiday and a non-working day in honor of the adoption of the declaration on the state sovereignty of Russia.

On June 2, 1994, then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued an executive order declaring Russia Day a national holiday.