WASHINGTON, July 15 (RIA Novosti) – John Tefft’s candidacy as the US Ambassador to the Russian Federation squares with the interests of both internal and foreign policy of US President Barack Obama’s administration, Joseph Dresen, a program associate at the Woodrow Wilson Center's Kennan Institute told RIA Novosti.
“This appointment meets the president's domestic political needs to appoint someone with a strong reputation on Russia, as well as his foreign policy need to have a professional diplomat in charge in the Moscow embassy,” Dresen said.
John F. Tefft served as US ambassador to Ukraine between 2009 and 2013, after holding the same position in Georgia from 2005 to 2009 and Lithuania from 2000 to 2003. Tefft also worked in Moscow as deputy ambassador from 1996 to 1999. From 1989 to 1992, Tefft was deputy head of the department for the Soviet Union, later Russia and the CIS, in the US State Department.
Opinions are divided on Tefft’s appointment for Moscow post. While some political analysts consider him a specialist in сolor revolutions and link his appointment to the deterioration of US-Russian relations, others believe that he is, first of all, a career diplomat destined to improve diplomatic ties between the two countries amid the disagreements in a number of issues.
“There is a great deal of truth in both conflicting views,” Kennan Institute researcher noted. “President Obama wants an ambassador who has a track record of being tough on Russia, but also with long experience inside Russia and in the surrounding states.”
Dresen also noted that Tefft’s tough stance on Russia helped him get Obama’s nomination as ambassador to Russia.
“He is a career diplomat, and, at this challenging time [for US-Russian relations], his experience in international diplomacy is as important or perhaps even more important than his experience in Eurasia,” the analyst concluded.
Obama nominated John F. Tefft as the US ambassador to the Russian Federation. The US Senate will now have to approve the nominee.
Russian Foreign Ministry aide Yury Ushakov said that the Kremlin gave its approval for Tefft’s candidacy. Ushakov labeled Tefft as a high-level professional diplomat who knows the country and speaks Russian, having previously worked in Russia.
Anticipating the nomination, Russian diplomatic sources explained Moscow’s decision to favor Washington’s request by the fact that “politics is not defined by ambassadors."
McFaul 2.0: Ukraine "color" revolution architect Tefft coming to Russia >>
The post has been vacant since the previous US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, announced his return to the United States on February 4.
