Huntsman heads to Russia to tackle Mideast, China
New US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr., a seasoned diplomat and no close friend of President Donald Trump, has his work cut out for him.
MOSCOW — As veteran diplomat Jon Huntsman Jr. assumes his new role as US ambassador to Russia this month, he faces a thicket of thorny issues separating the countries.
Many Russian officials see Huntsman’s appointment as an attempt by US President Donald Trump to shield himself from criticism he faces for appointing “Russia-friendly” officials to high-level positions amid the resignation scandal of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The same line of reasoning in Moscow also applied to the nominations of Kurt Volker as special representative for Ukraine negotiations and Wess Mitchell as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.
Following the official announcement in July of Trump’s intent to nominate Huntsman, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the chief Russian diplomat for the United States, praised the administration’s choice when he appeared on TV. “We’ve given our consent [as protocol requires], knowing Mr. Huntsman’s biography well and realizing that he is a top professional, a man with strong beliefs, very experienced,” Ryabkov said.
