MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. The appointment of Russia’s new ambassador to Washington will not be influenced by the upcoming US presidential election, as Moscow will be guided by its own timing in this, a senior Russian diplomat said.
"The decision will be made by the Russian president," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, taking a TASS reporter’s question.
"The connection with the [US] election has always been artificial. <…> This made us even more aware of the fact that regardless of whether there is a Russian ambassador or a charge d’affaires in Washington at the time of the US election, the so-called US establishment still presses ahead with its attempts to denigrate our policies, alleging that we will try and impact the outcome of the election one way or another, etc. Therefore, we will act according to our own schedule, not the US one," Ryabkov explained.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov from his post in a decree earlier on Thursday. On October 5, the Russian Embassy in the United States told TASS that Antonov had concluded his tenure in Washington. The diplomat returned to Moscow on the next day.
Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS that the next ambassador to Washington would be chosen in due time, and that the outcome of the November 5 presidential election in the United States would have no bearing on this decision. The Russian presidential spokesman stressed that diplomatic relations with Washington had not been downgraded.