The U.S. ambassador to Russia refuses to leave the country after the Kremlin “advised” him to return home after new sanctions by the Biden administration, two sources informed of the situation told Axios.
Why it’s important: John Sullivan, a respected diplomat that President Biden has maintained so far from the Trump era, is at the center of one of the most important proofs of Biden’s resolution.
- Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it would expel ten U.S. diplomats and ban current officials, such as Attorney General Merrick Garland, from visiting Russia.
- But the Russians did not expel Sullivan. Instead, the Kremlin summoned him to meet with a senior foreign policy official, Yuri Ushakov, who recommended that he return to Washington for consultations with Biden officials.
- According to people who know his thinking, Sullivan thinks that if Putin wants him to leave, he will have to force it.
- A State Department spokesman declined to comment.
The big picture: Last week, in response to Russian cyberespionage and interference in the US elections, Biden unveiled a series of sanctions aimed at the Russian economy.
- Biden spoke with President Putin last Tuesday, telling him sanctions would come, while also exploring the possibility of a summit between the two later this year.
- In announcing the sanctions, Biden called them “proportionate” and was careful to note that he did not want to start a climbing cycle with Putin.
- National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday spoke with Nikolay Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, discussed a possible presidential summit and “agreed to keep in touch,” according to a White House statement.
Flashback: Last month, Biden agreed that Putin was a “killer.” The Russian – accused of poisoning some of his enemies – responded by wishing “good health” to the new president.
- Putin also recalled the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Anatoly Antonov, to Moscow for consultations.
- The diplomatic signal wanted to highlight the Kremlin’s unhappiness with the Biden administration.
Between lines: In response to the new sanctions, Russia did not expel Sullivan or turn him into an “unwelcome” person, “PNG” in diplomatic language.
- “If the Kremlin wants PNG, that would be a very escalating move,” said Mike McFaul, who was ambassador to Russia under President Obama. “The last ambassador to receive PNG from Moscow was George Kennan, of Stalin in 1952.”
- “I applaud Ambassador Sullivan for continuing his work,” he said.
The intrigue: Russia is accumulating thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine.
- U.S. officials have been working behind the scenes with allies to warn Russia of the costs of seizing additional territory, but have made it clear they will not intervene militarily to deter Russia from a non-NATO nation.
The conclusion: Biden wants stability and predictability to define its relations with Putin and Russia, while his administration focuses on China.
- Ignoring the Kremlin’s suggestion to remember Sullivan, the administration does not take the bait to climb, while making it clear that Biden decides who his ambassador is, not Putin.