Story highlights The countries were sparring over the historical origins of Anna Yaroslavna, an 11th-century figure

The dispute stemmed from recent comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin

Washington (CNN) The world witnessed another ground-breaking use of GIF diplomacy on Tuesday, when the official Twitter account for the country of Ukraine mocked the official account for Russia with a Simpsons GIF.

The countries were sparring over the historical origins of Anna Yaroslavna, an 11th-century figure born in Kievan Rus -- then federated territory surrounding Kiev, now the capital of Ukraine -- and who went on to become queen of France.

The dispute arose after Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the French queen as "Russian Anne" during a news conference this week with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Putin's remark was seen by critics as an attempt to blur the line between Russian and Ukrainian history. And the apparent effort to appropriate a historical figure reverberated in the context of the ongoing conflict over Crimea.

Ukraine's first tweet makes the point that Russia's capital, Moscow, was undeveloped at the time of Anne's coronation, suggesting it would be wrong for the country of Russia to claim Anne of Kiev as part of their history.

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