Normally when politicians tweet an important view on a world issue, their replies consist mostly of abuse and far-from-helpful advice.
But not so for Philip Hammond who triggered a fairly abrupt response from the Russian Embassy on Thursday morning, when criticising their country's airstrikes in Syria.
Presdent Putin has caused consternation in the West by launching airstrikes purportedly against IS in Syria but widely believed to have actually targeted US-supported rebels fighting against Russian-backed President Assad.
Hammond, Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, tweeted...
To which an obviously riled Russian Embassy replied...
.@PHammondMP Russian actions in Syria are legitimate by intl law, unlike those of others.We're acting on Govt request pic.twitter.com/bAeAWHup5r
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) October 1, 2015
The Russians have been characteristically belligerent throughout the entire episode as evidenced by this...
The Russian Embassy are known for their rather unusual Twittter activity, in the wake of #PigGate last week this little exchange delighted many...
As did this last year...
But they don't mince their words when dealing with the UK.