According to Antonov, he will start meetings tomorrow. The diplomat noted that he returns to the United States with an optimistic mood
Anatoly Antonov
Russian diplomats will soon have a lot of work to do in the United States. This was stated by Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov before flying to New York from Sheremetyevo airport, RIA Novosti reports.
According to Antonov, he has already scheduled several meetings. They will begin on Monday, June 21, and continue in the following days. “There’s a lot of work to be done. We are counting on progress, ” the diplomat said, adding that he is returning to Washington with an optimistic mood.
At 9: 20 Moscow time, the Aeroflot plane with Antonov on board took off from Moscow to the New York City airport. John F. Kennedy. From there, the head of the diplomatic mission will go to Washington.
The ambassador stayed in Russia for three months-in March, he was summoned to Moscow for consultations after statements by American President Joe Biden, who agreed to call his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “murderer”.
The words of the American leader caused a diplomatic scandal. Putin himself “without irony” wished Biden good health in response to his statement. Later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reported that Biden does not regret what he said.
In April, the Foreign Ministry reported that the timing of Antonov’s return directly depends on Washington’s actions to normalize relations between the two countries. In the same month, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov recommended that the American ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, return to the United States.
Before the meeting between Biden and Putin in Geneva on June 16, both sides expressed hope for the return of the heads of their diplomatic missions to work. At the summit, the presidents agreed to return the ambassadors. In addition, Moscow and Washington will start working together to eliminate problems in the work of diplomats.