On April 29, the Senate of the US Congress unanimously approved Victoria Nuland’s candidacy for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States. The broadcast was conducted on the website of the upper chamber.
US President Joe Biden nominated 59-year-old Nuland for Senate approval in February. She will be sworn in soon.
Nuland has worked in the State Department for over 30 years and, in particular, was the chief official of the State Department for Russia and the countries of the former USSR, permanent representative to NATO and special envoy for the Treaty on Conventional Arms in Europe. She worked in China, Russia and Mongolia.
During the 2014 protests in Kiev that eventually led to the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Nuland was one of the Western officials who publicly supported the demonstrators.
In May 2019, Nuland was denied a Russian visa. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the diplomat is on a black list drawn up by Moscow in response to US sanctions.
Nuland’s nomination for the post of Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs became known on January 16.
A month earlier, Nuland’s possible appointment to the post of US Undersecretary of State was commented on by The National Interest. His material indicated that the appointment of Nuland may indicate a possible deterioration in relations between the United States and Russia. The authors of the material predicted that she recommends the Biden administration to introduce new sanctions against the Russian Federation, as well as create a global front to contain the “military aggression” of Russia.