Russian Ambassador Returns to US 3 Months after Being Recalled

Russian ambassador to US Anatoly Antonov left Moscow on Sunday, heading to New York, from where he will return to his base in Washington three months after being recalled.

 

Last Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their summit meeting that has lasted for about 65 minutes.

 

In a press conference held after the summit, Putin said they have agreed to return their ambassadors to their posts in a bid to lower tensions.

 

Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, was recalled from Washington about three months ago after Biden described Putin as a killer. U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow almost two months ago after Russia suggested he return to Washington for consultations.

Biden and Putin plunged into the face-to-face talks on Wednesday at a lush lakeside Swiss mansion, a highly anticipated summit at a time when both leaders say relations between their countries are at an all-time low.

 

As the two leaders appeared briefly before media at the start of the meeting, Biden called it a discussion between “two great powers” and said it was “always better to meet face to face.” The meeting in a book-lined room had a somewhat awkward beginning — both men appeared to avoid looking directly at each other during a brief and chaotic photo opportunity before a scrum of jostling reporters.

 

Biden nodded when a reporter asked if Putin could be trusted, but the White House quickly sent out a tweet insisting that the President was “very clearly not responding to anyone question, but nodding in acknowledgment to the press generally”.