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The US Senate confirms Lynne M. Tracy as the new ambassador to Russia. Photo/cleveland.com
A few hours before the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Arriving in Washington for a historic visit, Senators vote 93-2 to confirm veteran diplomat Lynne M. Tracy as the new ambassador to Russia.
Some see Tracy’s election as a signal of US commitment to war-torn Ukraine in the face of encroachment by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opened the House session by saying Wednesday’s approval of a new $45 billion military aid package for Ukraine and confirming that a new US ambassador to Russia would send a strong signal that Americans “stand firm” with the people.
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“Tracy will be assigned to fight Putin,” Schumer said as quoted by apThursday (22/12/2022).
Tracy is a career Foreign Service official who was previously Ambassador to Armenia. He will oversee the embassy in Moscow which has been battered in terms of staffing as US-Russia relations have collapsed due to the war in Ukraine.
It followed several longstanding and independent diplomatic disputes over personnel and facilities and was exacerbated by disagreements over arms control.
Tracy, who speaks Russian, was previously a senior adviser on Russian affairs at the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, as well as a deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Moscow. You have also held various positions in Central and South Asia.
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