Russian ambassador not to attend Trump inauguration ceremony - Kremlin aide Ushakov

MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) - A Russian ambassador will not attend United States President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.

"Nobody will represent Russia at the inauguration ceremony. An ambassador usually does. Well, if an invitation has been sent to the charge d'affaires ad interim, then he will be in attendance," Ushakov told journalists, when asked who would represent Russia at the ceremony, considering that head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department of North America Alexander Darchiyev, whom media have referred to as a possible candidate for Russian ambassador to the U.S., has still not received agrement from Washington.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on December 11, 2024 that Moscow had forwarded a request for agreement to Washington to appoint a new ambassador to the U.S. The Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee had held consultations on November 27, 2024 to discuss appointments and recalls of Russian diplomatic representatives abroad and in international organizations, which Darchiyev took part in.