Russian and American embassies in Dhaka are well on their way to transgressing the boundaries of diplomatic etiquette in an ongoing war of words, hashtags and memes on Twitter-in a manner that is vaguely reminiscent of the Cold War. After the US ambassador to Bangladesh criticised the government over “reports of violence and political intimidation” and made a visit to the family of an alleged victim of forced disappearance, Dhaka quickly morphed into the latest frontier for Washington-Moscow tensions. Russia’s foreign minister went on to issue an elaborate statement condemning the US for trying to influence Dhaka’s political processes and reaffirmed its commitment to non-interference. While it is true that the United States has a well-documented history of meddling in other countries’ affairs, Russia’s motives are far from altruistic. Tensions between Washington and Moscow have been at an all-time high ever since Russia invaded Ukraine; prompting the US-led NATO bloc to cut all diplomatic ties with Russia. In the absence of diplomatic channels to communicate with one another, it is not surprising that the US and Russia are using Dhaka to air out their dirty laundry. Indeed, the political climate in Bangladesh is far from stable. Reports of the state’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors in the face of the mounting political opposition have been making headlines all month. But this is not America’s battle to adjudicate. Or Russia’s, for that matter. Needless to say, the US-backed resolution against Russia was not intended to stop the war but to alienate Moscow diplomatically. Bangladesh’s abstention from this resolution did not go unnoticed by the US. Dhaka’s stance is a thoughtful one. It has not forgotten the USSR’s assistance during the days of its infancy. This is not the first time that Bangladesh has abstained from voting on the Russia-Ukraine issue. The country had also excused itself from the UNGA voting on the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Remaining thoughtfully neutral speaks volumes about its political inclinations. Russia is a time-tested friend and the US, an important geopolitical player and trade partner that it cannot risk offending. By taking a stance against Moscow, Bangladesh could compromise its own economic trajectory, which has shown tremendous potential over the last few years. Dhaka is a long-time advocate of diplomatic dialogue, which the US and Russia are not open to. The country remains devoted to neutrality, even amid rising tensions between its two powerful allies right in its own territory. For the sake of calm Bengal waters and serenity in the entire neighbourhood, it can only be hoped that any knee-jerk altercations, no matter how tempting, would be overlooked. After all, embassies do a splendid job at being a friendly window into their respective motherlands and they should, quite logically, stick to their original game plan. *