Further rapprochement

Russia nominates new ambassador to the USA

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(Bild: ANATOLY MALTSEV/EPA)

As part of the rapprochement between Moscow and Washington, Russia has announced the appointment of a new ambassador to the USA. Further normalization in other sectors could follow ...

Career diplomat Alexander Darchev is to take over the post that has been vacant since last year, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. Darchev's appointment was the result of several hours of talks between delegations from both sides in Istanbul the previous day.

Delegations from Russia and the USA had discussed the normalization of diplomatic relations in the Turkish metropolis on Thursday. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, one of Russia's proposals to the USA at the meeting was to resume the flight connections between the two countries that were suspended three years ago due to the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

Real estate deal on the horizon?
Both sides discussed "ways to overcome numerous inconveniences caused by previous American administrations", explained the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. Among other things, they discussed the return of six Russian properties in the US that were "illegally confiscated" between 2016 and 2018.

The new US President Donald Trump, who has been in office since January, has made a radical U-turn in US policy towards Russia in recent weeks. After a surprising phone call with Putin, Trump sent his Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Riyadh for talks with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. There, both sides agreed to begin talks on the Ukraine conflict.

The surprising rapprochement between Washington and Moscow caused concern in Ukraine and the EU. Kiev and its European supporters fear that they will be ignored in the talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Darchiyev held negotiations with the USA in Istanbul
The US side handed over a note approving Darchiyev's appointment on Thursday at the Russian-American negotiations in Istanbul, the ministry in Moscow announced. The ambassador will take up his work in Washington in the next few days.

Darchiyev, who succeeds Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who has been removed from office, is currently Director of the North Atlantic Department in the Russian Foreign Ministry. On Thursday, he also led the negotiations in Istanbul with US diplomat Sonata Coulter on a resumption of relations between the two countries.

Possibly also new US ambassador in Moscow
Ambassador Lynne Tracy has been working in the US representation in Moscow since 2023. According to Russian media, she is also to be replaced. The Russian government newspaper "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" reported that the US diplomat responsible for Libya, Richard Norland, is to take over his country's representation in Moscow as ambassador. This has not yet been confirmed.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump gave the impetus for the restoration of contacts during a telephone conversation this month. Discussions are also to include an end to the war in Ukraine and a meeting between the two presidents. However, no date has been set.