Zakharova, in a post on her Facebook account, said that all night reporters were asking her to confirm Kislyak's departure from Washington in July, allegedly suggested by McFaul.
"In our country, the president decides whether to return or appoint ambassadors. This happens in a planned manner immediately after the appointment of a new ambassador… And if a decision would be made to appoint a new ambassador to the United States (and this is a whole procedure which takes several months, thus, there is no question of spontaneity), Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak, who has worked in the United States for nine years, will go down in the history of bilateral relations as a person, who did everything possible for their development, even in the most difficult moments," Zakharova wrote.
Kislyak has been serving as Russia’s ambassador to the United States since 2008. According to diplomatic sources, his replacement, Anatoly Antonov, has been approved by the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, in late May.
