U.S. Ambassador Sullivan, U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation, was quoted by Reuters last week as saying that Russia should suspend its idea of closing its U.S. embassy. He said, regardless of growing tensions over the war in Ukraine, the two biggest nuclear powers should continue to hold talks.
In an interview with TASS Russian News Agency, Ambassador John J. Sullivan said, “We must preserve the ability to speak to each other.” He further cautioned against removing the works of Leo Tolstoy from Western bookshelves or boycotting the music of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Ambassador Sullivan’s remarks were reported by TASS in Russian and translated by Reuters into English.
Reuters reports that according to President Vladimir Putin, the invasion of Ukraine is a turning point in Russian history. He calls it a rebellion against U.S. hegemony, which he says has humiliated his country since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
On the other hand, Epoch Times reports that Ukraine and its supporters from the West say that they are fighting for survival against an imperial and reckless leader.
Despite the war in Ukraine, spy scandals, and brinkmanship, relations between Washington and Moscow had not broken since 1933, when diplomatic ties were reopened. However, Russia has indicated that post-Soviet relations with the West have ended, and it is now turning to the east.
Last month, Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, was asked to comment on U.S.-Russia relations. He said that the U.S. and Russia would never split completely. He further told TASS that if the embassies shut down, it would be a blunder for both nations.
The first diplomatic contact between the United States and Moscow started when Catherine the Great refused to support the British empire when America declared independence.
According to Ambassador Sullivan, the U.S. embassy should only close down if its embassy becomes dangerous. Sullivan hopes for relations between the two countries to be normalized. However, the 62-year-old lawyer quickly indicated that it would probably not happen in his lifetime.