Putin Appoints Alexander Darchiev as Russia’s New Ambassador to Washington

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday appointing Alexander Darchiev, head of the North Atlantic Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, as Moscow’s ambassador to the United States.

The decree, published on the Russian government’s official website, confirms the appointment of a new head of Russia’s diplomatic mission in Washington, nearly five months after the departure of former ambassador Anatoly Antonov in October 2024. On February 28, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the United States, during talks in Istanbul on normalizing diplomatic relations, had delivered an official note to Moscow approving Darchiev’s appointment as ambassador to Washington. He is expected to depart for his new post soon.

Darchiev, 64, is a former researcher specializing in North American studies, focusing on both the United States and Canada. Fluent in English and French, he has served in Russia’s diplomatic corps since 1992, spending nearly a decade in the US and Canada in various roles, including advisor and minister-counselor at the Russian Embassy. He also served as Russia’s ambassador to Canada from October 24, 2014, to January 11, 2021, before returning to Moscow to lead the North Atlantic Department, a position he held until his recent appointment.