Vladimir Putin dismissed Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov
On Thursday, October 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree releasing diplomat Anatoly Antonov from his duties as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United States, as well as from the post of permanent observer at the Organization of American States (OAS), which is located in Washington.
The fact that Antonov was resigning became known on October 5. The next day after these messages, he returned to Moscow. The plane of the former head of the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington landed at the capital’s Vnukovo 2 airport.
Before his resignation, Antonov received death threats
Assistant to the Russian leader Yuri Ushakov noted that Antonov had to work “in really difficult conditions, when diplomatic relations were practically near zero.”
According to Antonov himself, in the United States he received threats of physical violence.
The ex-ambassador said that as we moved towards the US presidential elections, it became increasingly difficult to work in the States. In addition to threats, the ex-ambassador mentioned “demonstrations with provocative slogans and insults against the leadership of our country.”
In the United States, the completion of Antonov’s mission was called one of the tragedies of our time
Former US military intelligence officer Scott Ritter said that the end of Antonov’s diplomatic mission is one of the greatest tragedies of our time.
If only America cared about diplomacy as much as Russia. Instead, Ambassador Antonov spent seven years largely ignored by American officials and diplomats. His titanic efforts to improve relations with the United States were drowned in a cacophony of Russophobia
According to Ritter, Antonov was one of the few diplomats seeking to improve relations between states. He recalled that the Russian ambassador frankly warned the United States about the risk of nuclear war in the event of further escalation of the conflict.
Antonov was “the right man at the right time,” but after his resignation, Washington missed its chance, the former intelligence officer added.
Antonov’s likely successor named
Anatoly Antonov’s successor may be the former head of the diplomatic mission in Canada and director of the North America Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Darchiev.
“Now none of the officials communicate with the Russian ambassador anyway, so by and large it doesn’t matter who becomes the new representative in Washington,” said one of the interlocutors of the Vedomosti newspaper.
Another source admitted that the appointment of a new ambassador may be delayed, and until then the diplomatic mission will be headed by a charge ad interim.
Related materials:
According to Ushakov, it would be more logical to appoint a new Russian ambassador to Washington after the US presidential elections on November 5.
In turn, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov pointed out that the American presidential race does not in any way affect the appointment of a new ambassador in Washington, since the Russian authorities are guided by “the internal calendar, not the American one.”
#Resignation #Russian #Ambassador #USA #Antonov #threats #diplomat #Kremlin #commentary #successor #influence #American #elections