Russia’s U.S. ambassador claims he can’t get a meeting with the Biden administration, complains his COOK was sent back to Moscow and says Putin hasn’t even spoken to him since the start of the invasion

• Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov complains in a new interview that no one in Washington D.C. will talk to him
• Says he can’t get meetings at White House, State Department or on Capitol Hill 
• Also told Politico he hasn’t spoken to Vladimir Putin since Antonov arrived in Washington in August 2017
• And complained that one of the diplomats being expelled by U.S. is his cook 
• ‘What kind of problems my cook can create for security of United States if he stays here?’ Antonov said 

Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov complains no one in Washington D.C. will talk to him since his country invaded the Ukraine

Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov complains in a new interview that no one in Washington D.C. will talk to him since his country invaded the Ukraine.

Antonov said he can’t get meetings at the White House, State Department or with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. And he also complains one of the diplomats being expelled by the U.S. after Russia invaded Ukraine is his cook. 

Even more shocking, he tells Politico he can’t even get Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone – the two men haven’t spoken since Antonov arrived in Washington in August 2017.

They haven’t even spoken since Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine – although Antonov referred to it as a ‘special military operation,’ which is in line with Kremlin demands. 

And he does say he speaks with the Russian government in Moscow even if it’s not Putin he talks to.

He argues any call with Putin would ‘give an opportunity to FBI to listen to everything what Mr. Putin could say [to] me?’

He says he has ‘technical’ contact with President Joe Biden’s administration but complains it is only with low-level staff and no one at a senior administration official level.

He notes that lawmakers on Capitol Hill refuse to meet with him. 

He argues this can’t continue and the U.S. and Russia need to work together on issues like climate change and covid. 

‘We are doomed to cooperate on various issues,’ Antonov said. ‘It’s impossible to imagine even under such circumstances that problems of strategic stability, climate change, coronavirus, fighting against terrorism, fighting against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction could be solved without active engagement of the United States and Russia.’

The Russian Embassy in Washington has around 170 diplomats and staff but since May 2021, around 100 employees have been expelled or will soon be pushed out, embassy officials estimated. 

One of those, Antonov complains, is his cook. 

‘What kind of problems my cook can create for security of United States if he stays here?’ Antonov said. 

Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov says that senior officials in President Joe Biden’s administration won’t talk to him, leaving him to only deal with low level staff

Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov also said he hasn’t spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since he came to Washington D.C. in August 2017

Antonov, 66, is a former military officer and replaced Sergey Kislyak as ambassador on August 21, 2017 by presidential decree. 

He has a reputation as a hardliner and tough negotiator. He has been called a ‘bull terrier’ on relations with the West. His past postings include time at the Russian defense ministry and in its foreign affairs division.

In his sit down with Politico, Antonov echoes many of the Kremlin’s talking points: Russia is carrying out a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine to purge the country of Nazis and other bad actors and to ensure the Ukraine is not becoming a staging ground for NATO. 

He also denies of reports of atrocities in Bucha or that Russian forces have used some type of chemical weapons. 

He describes himself as upset when he sees the images of bodies in the street from Ukraine.

‘It goes without saying that war is not a good thing for United States, for Ukraine and for Russia,’ he said. 

But he slammed the United States for its harsh financial sanctions, which have been placed on Putin, several senior Russian government officials, wealthy oligarchs and Russian banks. 

Antonov, himself, has been sanctioned by the U.S. government. 

‘You steal our money,’ he said. And asks, with sanctions, ‘how is it possible to trust you?’ 

In 2021, after Biden called Putin as a ‘killer’ in an interview with ABC News, Moscow recalled Antonov for roughly three months. 

He returned to the Embassy in Washington after Biden and Putin held a summit in Geneva in June 2021. 

Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov after a bilateral meeting between Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at the United States Department of State in December 2019

But when asked why the world should trust Russia going forward, Antonvo said it is possible for the U.S. and Russia to be partners again.

‘You have to decide who we are for you,’ Antonov said. ‘Whether we are partner for you, whether we are rival for you, whether we are opponent, or I don’t want even to use this word, ‘enemy.’

‘As for me, I’m still sure we should be partners,’ he adds. ‘Previously, I would say that we are partners. Now we are not partners. It’s a pity.’

Source: Read Full Article