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Russian minister’s advice to US on Crimea: Watch sitcoms and do yoga instead

Scott Greer Contributor
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Current relations between Russia and the U.S. have recently been tense over the crisis in Ukraine, but one intrepid Russian minister has offered some advice for how America can accept his country’s takeover of Crimea.

“They should get more fresh air, do yoga, eat healthily, maybe watch some sitcoms on television,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with Interfax Thursday.

In Ryabkov’s opinion, America’s actions resemble “childish tantrums” and the country as a whole needs to just chill out and accept that Crimea is now no longer apart of Ukraine. He sees that the alternative of sitcom watching is better than voicing opposition to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

“This would be better than winding oneself up and winding up others, knowing that the ship has already sailed … Tantrums, weeping and hysteria won’t help,” Ryabkov said, according to a Reuters report.

But the diplomat was pessimistic that the U.S. would take his advice and would continue to condemn Crimea’s referendum to unify with Russia.

“One can see that the U.S. leadership is ‘fixated’, and they fail to accept the situation which has been shaped largely by the line (pursued) by the United States and their European allies to bring anti-Russian forces into power in Ukraine,” Ryabkov stated.

He also criticized NASA’s decision to cut off ties with Russian space agencies and saw it as another move that only furthered the divide between the two powers.

“The situation is turning into a joke when, for example, meetings between meteorologists are cancelled,” Ryabkov said, according to The Guardian.

This isn’t the first time the foreign official has made news opposing American interests. On March 19, Ryabkov threatened that Russia might change its position in international talks concerning Iran’s nuclear program in retaliation for the U.S. critical’ response to his nation’s intervention in Ukraine.

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