(Bloomberg) —
(Bloomberg) —
John Sullivan, the US ambassador to Russia, ended his tenure after almost three years and departed the country on Sunday, the US embassy in Moscow said on its website.
His departure had been planned and is part of a normal diplomatic rotation after serving a full tenure as ambassador, according to a State Department spokesperson.
The departure allows President Joe Biden to nominate a new ambassador, subject to US Senate approval, at a time of high tension between Moscow and Washington after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sullivan, who was nominated to the post in 2019 by President Donald Trump, would retire from a career in public service that’s spanned four decades and five US presidents, according to the embassy.
He served previously as deputy secretary of state and in senior positions at the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Commerce.
Deputy Chief of Mission Elizabeth Rood, a veteran diplomat, will take over as US charge d’affaires in Moscow until a successor to Sullivan arrives.
(Updates with State Department spokesperson’s comment in second paragraph.)
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