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Russia’s Foreign Ministry agrees to Huntsman as US ambassador to Russia

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed that Jon Huntsman is a high professional and very experienced

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has agreed to the candidature of Jon Huntsman as US ambassador to Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a televised interview on Rossiya’24 channel on Wednesday.

"We have given our consent, knowing Mr. Huntsman’s biography well and realizing that he is a high professional, a man with strong beliefs, very experienced," he said.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump nominated former Utah governor Jon Huntsman as the US Ambassador to Moscow.

Huntsman, 57, speaks Chinese and has seven children. In 2016, Forbes estimated his net worth at around $1 billion. In 1992, Huntsman headed the US diplomatic mission in Singapore at the age of 32, becoming the youngest US ambassador over the past 100 years.

The politician served as governor of the conservative Utah state in 2005-2009. During his term of governor, Utah became one of three best US states for conducting business, and its budget grew from 16.7 million to 22.8 million.

In 2009, US President Barack Obama appointed Huntsman as the US Ambassador to China. He held this office until 2011.