Former us official confirmed on Monday that the chief diplomat of Moscow in the U.S. — and a Central figure in the history of suspicion of links Donald trump of Russia, is back home after almost a decade of work.
As told in an interview with NBC News, two other American officials, the 66-year-old Sergey Kislyak will leave his post as Russian Ambassador to the U.S. in late summer in the framework of a long-planned rotation.
As a replacement for the chosen candidate of the Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs Anatoly Antonov, a supporter of the “tough course”, which is under EU sanctions because it supported the deployment of troops to Ukraine, when he was Deputy defense Minister.
This comes amid the ongoing FBI and congressional investigation of contacts of dubious assistants trump in the election campaign of 2016.
The US authorities told NBC news that the decision to leave Kislyak was taken before scandal.
Press Secretary of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov on Monday refused to confirm the replacement of the Ambassador, told reporters, RIA Novosti news Agency: “When will be signed the relevant decrees… we call this in”. However, us-Russia business Council organizes 11 Jul farewell for Kislyak in Washington at St. Regis.
Just a few weeks contact information Kislyak became the reason of dismissal of the chief Advisor to the President and led to calls for the resignation of US attorney General.
Trump in-law Jared Kushner (Jared Kushner) and the national security Advisor, Michael Flynn (as Michael Flynn) met with Kislyak in December at the trump tower in order to, as he said later, the official White house to hold a brief meeting as a courtesy.
Flynn resigned on 13 February, admitting that he reported to Vice-President Mike Pence (Mike Pence) incomplete information on previous telephone conversations with Kislyak and did not give the exact answer to the question, did he ever discuss with the Ambassador the question of U.S. sanctions.
Attorney General Jeff sessions (Jeff Sessions) have been criticized for the fact that during the hearings when approving your candidates are not reported on the two meetings Kislyak during the presidential campaign of 2016. In March, yielding to pressure, he recused himself, refusing to conduct any Federal investigation of Russian interference in the elections.
Earlier this month, and Roman sessions also questioned about the third personal meeting with Kislyak. She is supposed to be held at the Mayflower Hotel in April 2016. The edition of NBC News reported that the investigation of this meeting also involved the FBI. Sessions denied the fact of meeting with Kislyak at the hotel. “I went there, not knowing what he will” — he said to legislators.
Kislyak, who holds the position of Ambassador since 2008, regularly see on the streets of Washington, when he goes to some meeting or comes back from it. He takes in the building of the Russian Embassy professionals in foreign policy, officials from the Pentagon, journalists and staff Congress.
Those who participated in these events, characterized as accommodating and friendly a diplomat — though not as refined or prone to confrontation as his more famous boss, foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Most of his long career Kislyak spent in the United States and Russia.
First Kislyak was sent to new York, where in the early 1980-ies he worked in the representation of the USSR at the UN. Subsequent years Kislyak held there the post of first Secretary and then counselor in the Soviet Embassy in Washington. In 1989, he returned to Moscow, where he held a number of senior positions in the Ministry of foreign Affairs.
The Washington diplomats had previously expressed the view that the next appointment Kislyak will be associated with the return of the UN to work in the new Department for the fight against terrorism. In addition, after the unexpected death of Vitaly Churkin earlier this year, remains vacant post of permanent representative of Russia to the UN.
When at the beginning of this year, Kislyak asked about the possibility of coming to serve the UN, he replied that the work in new York is his first post, and for diplomats “is usually the first post is like first love.” But he has not confirmed the information about your future place of work.
Contacts Kislyak has raised questions about his role and involvement in cyberattacks during the elections.
For the United States and Russia, as well as many other countries has become common practice not to involve high-ranking diplomats for espionage activities, though there are cases when the intelligence agents working undercover as a senior diplomat.
Working in the United States of foreign diplomats, most likely, aware that their activities will be monitored by the US authorities just as well as the activities of American diplomats being followed in countries such as Russia.
Official representative of the Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova last month ridiculed statements about the involvement of dubious to espionage activities, calling it “total misinformation” and an attempt to influence public opinion.
“I will reveal military secrets: diplomats are working, and their job is to implement the contacts at the place of stay. They must contact both with officials and with the political establishment of the country of residence,” she said.
Later, the press Secretary of the Kremlin Peskov said that specific plans related to possible personal meeting trump and Putin, no.
“Unfortunately, until some concrete developments in this context is not” — he answered a question of journalists of RIA Novosti.
