© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

U.S. Ambassador To Russia Returns To Washington As Relations Sour Further

John Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, speaks to the media last year in Moscow. In a statement Tuesday, Sullivan said it was important for him to speak directly to "my new colleagues in the Biden administration" about U.S.-Russia relations.
Pavel Golovkin
/
AP
John Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, speaks to the media last year in Moscow. In a statement Tuesday, Sullivan said it was important for him to speak directly to "my new colleagues in the Biden administration" about U.S.-Russia relations.

The American ambassador to Russia is returning to Washington, D.C., for "consultations" after President Biden imposed a new round of sanctions on Moscow last week, including the expulsion of 10 diplomats — a move quickly followed by reciprocal measures from the Kremlin.

A brief statement from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Tuesday announced that Ambassador John Sullivan was returning to the U.S. this week after his Russian counterpart was recalled amid increasingly strained relations between the two countries.

"I believe it is important for me to speak directly with my new colleagues in the Biden administration in Washington about the current state of bilateral relations between the United States and Russia," said Sullivan, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump and took over as U.S. ambassador last year.

"Also, I have not seen my family in well over a year, and that is another important reason for me to return home for a visit," he added. Sullivan said he would be returning to Moscow "in the coming weeks before any meeting between Presidents Biden and Putin."

Last week, Biden signed an executive order slapping new sanctions on Russia in retaliation for a major cyberbreach blamed on the Kremlin that ultimately penetrated computer systems operated by U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security. The sanctions were also aimed at punishing Moscow over other alleged acts, including interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in either the cyberattack or election meddling.

Following the U.S. sanctions, Russia recalled its ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly suggested the U.S. should likewise recall Sullivan.

"Now is the time for the United States to demonstrate good sense and to turn its back on a confrontational course," Lavrov said in a statement. "Otherwise an array of painful decisions for the American side will be implemented."

Last month, Biden stepped up his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a "killer," turning up the volume on increasingly sour relations between Washington and Moscow.

Despite the recall of each nation's ambassador and Washington and Moscow's ongoing rhetorical battle, there are indications the two sides still want to engage with one another. Putin, for example, accepted Biden's invitation to a virtual climate summit later this week and is expected to speak. And Biden has said he is open to a one-on-one summit with the Russian leader.

In addition to the election meddling and cyberattack, the U.S. has also expressed concern about reports the Kremlin offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan and the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his continued detention. In recent days, Navalny, who has been on a three-week hunger strike in prison, is reportedly near death.

Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly massing troops along its border with Ukraine — a move that has alarmed Kyiv, which fears a repeat of Moscow's infiltration and annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content