The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the US Ambassador will usefully spend his time in Washington.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry expects that [посол США в России Джон] Sullivan at consultations in the United States will help to develop a position that will allow not to lead relations to a dead end, “- said on Thursday, April 22, the official representative of the department Maria Zakharova.
On April 22, the plane with the US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan on board took off from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. The aircraft took off from the airport on a Moscow – London flight at 09:57 Moscow time. After a transfer in the British capital, the Ambassador will travel to Washington.
Sullivan said on April 20 that after a working trip to Washington, he would return to Moscow in the coming weeks, before the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and American leader Joe Biden.
On the same day, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov commented on the departure of the US Ambassador to Russia. He pointed out that the return of ambassadors after the completion of consultations in the capitals is justified by expediency. According to Peskov, the departure is associated with the consequences of “unfriendly measures” taken against Russia.
On March 21, Russian Ambassador to the United States Antonov returned from New York to Moscow for consultations on changing relations between the countries. The reason was the report of the National Intelligence Office, in which Russia was accused of interfering in the American elections. Also, the reason for the aggravation was the speech of US President Joe Biden, in which he promised that the Russian authorities would “pay the price” for their alleged interference in elections and hacker attacks.