US Ambassador to Russia to Be Named on September 20: Diplomat


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The White House will announce the name of its new ambassador to Russia next Tuesday, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said.

For the first time ever a woman will be appointed to the post, she added in an interview with the Dozhd TV channel, aired on Saturday, TASS reported.

At present, the post of US ambassador to Russia is vacant, following the departure of John Sullivan, 62, from Moscow on September 4. He was appointed by former US President Donald Trump, a Republican, in December 2019.

CNN reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden plans to nominate the current head of the US diplomatic mission in Armenia, Lynne Tracy, to the post of ambassador to Russia.

According to the channel, the Biden administration hopes that the US Senate will quickly approve Tracy's nomination and that she will soon be able to start working in Moscow. It is noted that the US authorities have already sent a corresponding request to the Russian Federation for approval.

Tracy has already worked in Russia: from 2014-2017, she was John Tefft's deputy, who was the US ambassador to Moscow at the time. If approved, she would be the first woman to serve as US ambassador to Russia. Tracy has served as Washington's top envoy to Armenia since 2019.