Status: 09/21/2022 07:09 a.m
Relations between the US and Russia are currently very difficult. Diplomacy becomes all the more important. US President Biden has now appointed a new ambassador to Russia. She is very experienced – and she speaks Russian.
US President Joe Biden has formally nominated Lynne Tracy as the new US ambassador to Russia. She is to succeed John Sullivan, who left the post in early September. The diplomat had repeatedly addressed authoritarian tendencies, judicial arbitrariness and violations of human rights in Russia. The White House announced Tracy’s nomination after the Kremlin approved the appointment.
According to the rules of diplomatic protocol, nominations of potential ambassadors must be approved by the host country. Although this process is usually considered a formality, it is not a matter of course in times of particularly strained relations between the USA and Russia.
Many conflicts between both countries
The list of conflicts between the two countries is long: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, detentions of American citizens in Russia, allegations of Russian interference in elections in the US and elsewhere, and an escalating dispute over embassy staffing in Washington and Moscow .
An experienced and decorated diplomat
Tracy, currently serving as Ambassador to Armenia, has had a long career as a diplomat. She speaks Russian and previously served as senior adviser on Russia policy in the US State Department’s Office of European and Eurasian Affairs. She was also deputy head of the diplomatic mission at the US Embassy in Moscow.
She has also held a number of posts in Central and South Asia. Tracy is held in high esteem in diplomatic circles. In 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented her with an award for heroism at the State Department.