WASHINGTON — The U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, ended his tenure as America’s high diplomat in Moscow on Sunday after practically three years, spanning the Trump and Biden administrations, and can retire from a prolonged profession in authorities service, the embassy introduced. His departure comes as Russia’s war with Ukraine is in its seventh month.
His four-decade public service profession included postings as deputy secretary of state and senior positions within the departments of Justice, Defense and Commerce.
Elizabeth Rood, the deputy chief of mission to Russia, would be the high U.S. diplomat in Moscow till a successor nominated by President Joe Biden replaces Sullivan.
On Saturday, Sullivan attended a farewell ceremony in Moscow for former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who died Tuesday.
The departure comes as U.S.-Russian relations stay tense. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the war has slowed to a grind with each side buying and selling fight strikes and small advances within the east and south. Both Russian and Ukraine have seen 1000’s of troops killed and injured, and Russia’s bombardment of cities has killed numerous harmless civilians.
The U.S. has imposed quite a few waves of sanctions on Russia and offered billions of {dollars} value of army help to Ukraine, shifting to a longer-term assist technique in latest weeks.
In April 2021, Sullivan headed again to the U.S. for consultations after officers in Moscow “suggested” he observe the instance of the Russian ambassador to Washington who was recalled from Washington after Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “killer.”
A Boston native, Sullivan was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate with unusually sturdy bipartisan assist as ambassador to Russia in December 2019. Biden requested him to stay within the post when Biden took workplace final 12 months.
