The diplomat is leaving Washington during the period of historically fractured ties between the two countries
Anatoly Antonov has finished his tenure as Russia’s ambassador to the US, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. The diplomat is returning to Moscow amid unprecedented tensions between the two nuclear superpowers.
“The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, has ended his service in Washington and is on his way to Moscow,” the Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement carried by Russian news agencies. The ministry did not provide any additional details and has so far not named his successor.
Antonov previously told reporters how it became increasingly difficult for Russian diplomats to work in the US as the bilateral relations were “falling apart.” He said earlier this week that he and his colleagues had been subjected to “threats of physical violence.”
The outspoken envoy was appointed to his position in August 2017 when the ties between the states were already deteriorating due to the allegations of Russian meddling in the US presidential election. Moscow has denied these claims and accused politicians in Washington of fear-mongering and deliberate attempts to slander Russia.
The bilateral relations only went downhill after the breakout of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February 2022, with some observers worrying that the tensions between Moscow and Washington could escalate into a full-blown war.
The US and Russia have repeatedly expelled each other’s diplomats in recent years. In 2017, the US ordered the shutdown of the Russian consulate in San Francisco, as well as the properties of Russia’s trade mission in Washington and New York. Moscow responded by demanding the closure of the American consulate in St. Petersburg. In 2020, the US suspended the work of the two of its remaining consulates in Russia.
