December 23, 2022
DHAKA – Bangladesh has somehow become the latest frontier in what appears to be the new cold war between the US and Russia that has begun since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
The back and forth on Twitter between the two countries’ embassies in Bangladesh has culminated in the Russian mission on Wednesday posting a cartoon that seemed to mock the US government.
After the Bangladesh government expressed disappointment over some diplomats’ statements on Bangladesh’s politics, the Russian embassy on Tuesday issued a press release taking a stand against foreign interference in local political issues.
In the statement, the Russia embassy said it was committed to the principle of not interfering in domestic affairs of other countries. It added that countries like Bangladesh “which shape their foreign and internal policy to serve their own national interests instead of following the lead of external powers, take a similar approach”.
The statement went on to quote the UN’s 1965 Declaration of the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection of their Independence and Sovereignty, which says, “No State has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other state.”
Does this apply to Ukraine? 🇺🇦#StandWithUkraine https://t.co/FjYgF6xYWS
— U.S. Embassy Dhaka (@usembassydhaka) December 21, 2022
The following day, the US embassy posted a news article about Russia’s statement, with a caption that read: “Does this apply to Ukraine? #StandwithUkraine.”
The same day, the Russian embassy tweeted a cartoon with the caption: “The current state of affairs.”
The current state of affairs pic.twitter.com/3eSlnsCNvW
— Embassy of Russia in Bangladesh (@RussEmbDhaka) December 21, 2022
The cartoon depicts birds sitting on different rungs on a pole, with national flags beside them. On the top is a solitary bird next to a US flag, then two birds next to a UK flag, followed by birds next to the EU flag, with four birds on the bottom next to a flag of Ukraine.