Russia Calls Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop as ‘He’

Russia has called Julie Bishop a "he." The official Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation referred to the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs and called her a "he."

MFA Russia quoted Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, in its tweet. "The Australian FM's idea not to invite Russia to the G20 summit is not surprising but he should not lose sign of its principles ... one of the host country's duties is to facilitate the discussion." MFA Russia tweeted. The reference, which may have the possibility to be a typographical error, has already sparked verbal battles online.

The Foreign Minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, was quick to tell MFA Russia that it was "fairly basic" to know that Bishop was a woman. "You should know that Australia FM @JulieBishopMP is not a "he". Fairly basic." he wrote. His efforts were, however, ridiculed by several who appear to be pro-Russia.

Ebert fonseka, who calls himself a "patriot," made fun of the Swedish minister for pointing out the mistake. "You seem quite an expert on gender. You are not into cross dressing hopefully." he wrote. @VitasMark [Виталий Марков (21+)] posted a seemingly racist tweet about Australia and Sweden. "Today in Australia it is difficult to determine who is "he" or "she", in Sweden almost impossible." He wrote.

геннадий гум wondered how the Swedish minister was aware of Bishop's gender as he did not have any idea about it. "BDW,who is @carlbildt "he' or "she"?" he wrote. Pete Shmigel, however, was more elaborate to correct MFA Russia's mistake. "The Minister is Julie Bishop and she is not a he. Your incompetence isn't surprising." he tweeted.

Australian Ambassador to Russia Paul Myler, on the other hand, thanked Bildt for correcting MFA Russia. He posted a rather "tongue-in-cheek" tweet where he apparently made fun of Russia's foreign policies. "Borders, genders - all a bit confusing right now!" he wrote.

Ludmil Arsov called MFA Russia "The soviet moron" who "has no idea" about Bishop's gender. Anders Anderson was sarcastic to criticise Russia. "That is why we lock our sheeps inside the stable when Russians comes to visit, being kind to animals." he wrote.

Lavrov earlier criticised Bishop for expressing her opinion on why Russia should not be a part of the G20 Summit to be held in Brisbane in November 2014.

#Lavrov: The Australian FM’s idea not to invite Russia to the G20 summit is not surprising but he should not lose sight of its principles

— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) September 2, 2014

@mfa_russia You should know that Australia FM @JulieBishopMP is not a “he”. Fairly basic. — Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) September 2, 2014

@carlbildt @mfa_russia @JulieBishopMP you seem quite an expert on gender.You are not into cross dressing hopefully pic.twitter.com/h1wu2qb3Vu

— Ebert fonseka (@efonz2013) September 2, 2014

. @carlbildt @mfa_russia @JulieBishopMP today in Australia it is difficult to determine who is "he"or "she", in Sweden almost impossible)) — Виталий Марков (21+) (@VitasMark) September 2, 2014

@carlbildt @mfa_russia @JulieBishopMP Thanks Carl! Borders, genders - all a bit confusing right now!

— Paul Myler (@PosolAustralia) September 2, 2014

@VitasMark @mfa_russia How does @carlbildt knows that @JulieBishopMP is "she"? I,for one,have no idea! BDW,who is @carlbildt "he'or "she"? — геннадий гум (@russianForGump) September 2, 2014

@mfa_russia - The Minister is Julie Bishop and she is not a he. Your incompetence isn't surprising.

— Pete Shmigel (@shmigel) September 2, 2014

The soviet moron has no idea… “@carlbildt: @mfa_russia You should know that Australia FM @JulieBishopMP is not a “he”. Fairly basic.” — Ludmil Arsov (@ludmil) September 2, 2014

@VitasMark That is why we lock our sheeps inside the stable when Russians comes to visit, being kind to animals. @carlbildt @mfa_russia

— Anders Anderson (@AndersAndersonE) September 2, 2014

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au