John Sullivan Sworn In as New US Ambassador to Russia

John Sullivan has been sworn in as the new United States Ambassador to Russia, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Monday.

“I’m confident John will effectively lead the effort to strengthen cooperation and build a constructive relationship with Russia”, Pompeo said in a tweet.

On 12 December, the US Senate confirmed Sullivan to be the next US envoy to Russia in a 70-22 vote.

Sullivan, who previously served as deputy secretary of state, will replace Jon Hunstman who completed his tenure in Moscow on 3 October.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his recent visit to the United States characterised Sullivan as being a highly professional diplomat and said Moscow would be happy to cooperate with him.

Former Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak said that he hoped Sullivan’s appointment would help end the “political football” between Washington and Moscow so that they can focus on actually addressing problems in bilateral relations.

Sullivan has pledged to support dialogue with Russia on arms control, the fight against terrorism, the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan.

Sullivan used to be in charge of counterterrorism negotiations in Russia as the State Department official. Before joining the government, he had more than 20 years of experience in private law practice.