Politico: the messenger of Putin Kislyak – the most dangerous diplomat in Washington
Envoy of Putin appeared in the center of the scandal, which forced me to retire one of trump’s Advisor, and placed in the difficult position of the other.
This writes Michael Crowley in his article “Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak – the most dangerous diplomat in Washington”, published on the newspaper’s website Politico.
When in April last year, Donald trump made his first speech about foreign policy during the campaign, 2016 at the hotel Washington, there was a special foreign guest: Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s Ambassador to the United States. Before the speech, the silver-tongued Russian messenger and other foreign ambassadors were at the backstage reception, which was also attended by trump and future attorney General Jeff sessions, said one of the organizers of the event.
Then, Kislyak was sitting at the bar and listened as trump criticized the foreign policy status quo in Washington and repeated his controversial call for a new phase in U.S.-Russian relations. “I believe that the easing of tensions and improvement of relations with Russia only from a position of strength – it is possible, absolutely possible,” said trump in the ballroom of the hotel “Mayflower”. “Some say that the Russian will not be reasonable. I intend to figure it out”.
66-year-old Kislyak, kotoryy fluent in English, was Moscow’s man in Washington since 2008. Kislyak is not too a public figure: he mostly avoids television appearances, rarely speaking with American journalists and writes on Twitter.
But now he can’t avoid attention. Kislyak has become the most dangerous diplomat of Washington: a senior official of trump have already been dismissed, and another – in a difficult situation because of the conversation with the Russian Ambassador. The first adviser to trump national security, Michael Flynn, resigned last monthafter he provided inaccurate information to White house officials – including Vice-President Mike Pence – and the FBI about his contacts with Kislyak in December. Thursday sessions recused himself from the investigation of the Russian hacker attacks and other interference in the presidential election of 2016, on behalf of trump, after accusations that he was not informed about the meetings with the Russian Ambassador in July and September last year, when he was adviser to the campaign of trump.
People who know Kislyak, describe him as an intelligent man, but stubborn supporter of the line of the Kremlin – the character described the sessions when we remembered the meeting with Kislyak in September in his office in the Senate. After a short conversation, said sessions, “somehow arose, the topic of Ukraine”. He added that the conversation became very “explosive” after Kislyak seemed to be trying to impute blame the conflict in Ukraine. Sessions said, according to Kislyak, “Russia did nothing wrong … and wrong everyone else is.”
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Some American officials believe that Kislyak is not just a stubborn defender of Russian foreign policy. Press Secretary of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, called “fake news” report by CNN, which quoted anonymous U.S. officials, who claimed that Kislyak is an intelligence officer who gathers and leads the spies.
But the expert of the analytical center that regularly communicates with Kislyak, casts doubt on such statements, but reports that Kislyak is in great confidence, and he is regularly summoned to Moscow for meetings.
An engineer by training, Kislyak arrived in the U.S. in the early 1980s to work in the Soviet mission to the United Nations in new York, and then at the Russian Embassy in Washington. He returned to Moscow to serve in the Ministry of foreign Affairs on issues of scientific cooperation and arms control. After a tenure as the Ambassador of Russia in Belgium and in the NATO Alliance, Kislyak was appointed Ambassador to Washington by the then President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, he took the post in July 2008.
He arrived when in the relations between Russia and the United States were a difficult period, shortly before Russia’s invasion of neighboring Georgia led to a sharp growth of tension in relations with Washington.
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Now, Kislyak said that the improvement of relations between Moscow and Washington possible. “During the cold war between us was irreconcilable ideological differences,” said Stanford, adding that now the situation is different. In an effort to thaw, Kislyak often goes on trips to promote the Affairs of their country outside of Washington.
He regularly organizes and attends cultural events in the districts of Washington. On such evenings Kislyak calls for a deeper understanding of Russian culture in the United States. “Stereotypes need to change inside,” he said in October. Kislyak also hosts parties for fellow diplomats, the Russian specialists and other Washington residents with personal or business connections with Russia.
Note that the Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment material.
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We will remind that eks-the adviser of the President of the United States Donald trump, Michael Flynn, as it turned out, had another, previously unknown meeting with the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak.
This meeting was held in preparation for the office of Obama’s new sanctions against Russia, writes The Washington Post.
According to the publication, it was also attended by the husband of Ivanka trump – Jared Kushner. “Jared Kushner, trump’s son-in-law and now his senior Advisor, along with Flynn took part in the meeting in the Trump Tower with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. But among the inner circle of the trump, that Flynn, who appears to have been the main interlocutor with the Russian representative,” – said the publication source in the administration.