PANAJI: In a bitter turn of events, the Russian Embassy on Saturday got vocal on the Goa government's last-minute decision to cancel the Indo-Russian Rock Music festival scheduled for Jan 31- Feb 1 in Baga , stating that Goa has provoked the loss of the long-standing friendship between Russia and India. Calling it a 'shameless and frankly unfriendly gesture on the part of state authorities', the Dy Consul General of the Russian federation in Mumbai, Alexey M Mzareulov said, "Their refusal, under false pretenses, to grant permission to hold this cultural event has angered many communities-Indian and international musicians, tourist-guests and local guests-and it runs contrary to common sense." The biting statement, barely bordering on diplomacy, has been issued by Rusian Ambassador Alexander M. Kadakin himself. ""I have never heard him use such words. There is a very bitter feeling in the heart of all Russians now," Mzareulov remarked. He stated that the Russian company organizing the festival had applied for all the necessary permissions well in advance, on January 9. "All our documents were in place, we had done all the paperwork perfectly and nobody had any objections until yesterday. There was no reason for the state authorities to cancel it at the last minute-especially if it is because of the baseless protests from some local taxi drivers and tour operators," he said. "If Russian business has no great value for Goa, we have plenty of other destinations to recommend to Russian tourists," Mzareulov said. Russian national media already influencing tourists to visit Kerala and Thailand instead of Goa, he added. The rock event was slated to attract over 10,000 visitors. Several rock bands scheduled to perform at the event, including Indian bands Parikrama and Indian Ocean, as well as Euro band 'Brainstorm,' have issued strongly-worded statements expressing their disappointment over the event being cancelled.