US Ambassador To Moscow Returning To Washington ‘For Consultations’ Amid Rising Tensions
In the Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, Vladimir Putin received his credentials from the ambassadors of a number of foreign countries. At the presentation of credentials. US Ambassador John Joseph Sullivan presented his credentials to the President of Russia. Photo by Russian Presidential Office press service.
This article was originally published April 20, 2021, by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan says he will be returning to the United States for consultations this week amid rising tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Relations between Washington and Moscow have entered a new phase of heightened tensions recently with U.S. President Joe Biden announcing punishing sanctions over cyberattacks, election interference, and threats against U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
Further souring the mood has been the issue of the health of jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, Russia’s buildup of troops along the border in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, and new allegations of Russian involvement in a deadly explosion at a munitions depot in the Czech Republic in 2014.
“I believe it is important for me to speak directly with my new colleagues in the Biden administration in Washington about the current state of bilateral relations between the United States and Russia,” Sullivan was quoted on April 20 as saying by embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Ross.
“Also, I have not seen my family in well over a year, and that is another important reason for me to return home for a visit. I will return to Moscow in the coming weeks before any meeting between Presidents Biden and [Vladimir] Putin,” he added.
‘Serious Consultations’
Sullivan’s announcement comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this week said that Putin’s top foreign-policy aide, Yury Ushakov, had recommended that Sullivan return to Washington to conduct “serious consultations.”
Russia’s envoy to the United States last month returned to Moscow for consultations after Biden suggested that he believes Putin is a murderer.
Sullivan’s announced departure also comes a day after U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed with his Russian counterpart, Nikolay Patrushev, bilateral issues, “regional and global matters of concern,” as well as “the prospect of a presidential summit” between the two countries’ presidents.
Sullivan and Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, agreed in their telephone call on April 19 “to continue to stay in touch,” National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement, which came after the Kremlin announced that Putin planned to speak later this week at an online summit on climate change organized by the United States.
Patrushev and Sullivan “discussed the preparations” for a potential summit between Putin and Biden, as well as “possible directions for the development of Russian-U.S. cooperation,” Russia’s Security Council said in a statement, according to Russian news agencies.
Biden has proposed to meet the Russian leader face-to-face to discuss bilateral relations. Putin has not yet indicated whether he would accept that invitation.
“I will return to Moscow in the coming weeks before any meeting between Presidents Biden and Putin,” Ambassador Sullivan said in his statement.
Copyright (c)2021 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Coffee or Die is Black Rifle Coffee Company’s online lifestyle magazine. Launched in June 2018, the magazine covers a variety of topics that generally focus on the people, places, or things that are interesting, entertaining, or informative to America’s coffee drinkers — often going to dangerous or austere locations to report those stories.
Biden will award the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam War Army helicopter pilot who risked his life to save a reconnaissance team from almost certain death.
Ever wonder how much Jack Mandaville would f*ck sh*t up if he went back in time? The American Revolution didn't even see him coming.
A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that at first appeared to yield little more than dust contains hidden treasure, the US Military Academy said.
Since the 1920s, a low-tech tabletop replica of an aircraft carrier’s flight deck has been an essential tool in coordinating air operations.
For nearly as long as the Army-Navy football rivalry, the academies’ hoofed mascots have stared each other down from the sidelines. Here are their stories.
Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel the weapon was produced by Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries but gave no other details.
Ambushes make for great action scenes. Here are seven of the best to ever grace the big screen.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the launch occurred Wednesday but gave no further details, such as how far the missile flew.
