Sergey Kislyak

Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak (Серге́й Ива́нович Кисля́к; born 7 September 1950) is a Russian senior diplomat and politician.

Kislyak graduated from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in 1973 and the USSR Academy of Foreign Trade in 1977.

Kislyak joined the diplomatic service in 1977, working with the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 1981 to 1985, Kislyak was the Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of the Soviet Union to the United Nations in New York City.

From 1985 to 1989, Kislyak was the First Secretary, Counsellor at the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Washington, D.C.

From 1989 to 1991, Kislyak was the Deputy Director of the Department of International Organisations at the Soviet Foreign Ministry.

From 1991 to 1993, Kislyak was the Deputy Director of the Department of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 1993 to 1995, Kislyak was the Director of the Department of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

From 1995 to 1998, Kislyak was the Director of the Department of Security Affairs and Disarmament at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In 1998, Kislyak was the Ambassador of Russia to Belgium with a residence in Brussels, and he also served as the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to NATO.

From 2003 to 2008, he was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and from 1998 to 2003, he served as the Ambassador of Russia to Belgium and Russia's Head of Mission to NATO.

Dubbed "the diplomat's diplomat" by CNN, Kislyak was Russia's highest level presence in the U.S. during his nine-year tenure in Washington, D.C., a period of increasing political tension between the two countries.

From 2003 to 2008, Kislyak served as a Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He was Russia's negotiator on the six-party Iran denuclearization talks prior to his appointment as ambassador to the United States.

Previously he served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United States from 2008 to 2017.

Kislyak became the Ambassador of Russia to the United States on 26 July 2008, when he was appointed by then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

For many years, Kislyak held a low profile in the press but socialized in Washington, D.C. diplomatic circles, known for his lavish parties at the Russian compound at Pioneer Point, Maryland.

Kislyak has been called an experienced and polished diplomat who is friendly but aggressive in promoting Russian interests.

The New York Times called Kislyak "the most prominent, if politically radioactive, ambassador in Washington."

John Beyrle, the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2008 to 2012, said that Kislyak is "a professional diplomat, not a politician. I'm sure he's surprised to have acquired such notoriety recently. I'm sure he's probably not enjoying his time in the limelight."

Kislyak became a key figure in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, receiving significant media coverage while denying that Russia was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.

However, Kislyak's meetings with advisers to then President-elect Donald Trump became a subject of investigation by U.S. intelligence officials.

In the fall of 2016, replacements for Kislyak were being considered as it was planned for him to end his lengthy tenure in D.C. In May 2017, General Anatoly Antonov, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs was approved to succeed him as ambassador to the United States.

Antonov, who has been called a "bull terrier" because of his reputation as a hardliner, is expected to take a more aggressive approach to negotiations with the United States.

Kislyak has emerged as a central figure in the scandal involving Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, particularly through his contacts with Donald Trump officials including Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner.

Sessions, later the United States Attorney General, denied any contact with Russian officials during the campaign but was forced to recuse himself from the Russian investigation after the Justice Department acknowledged he had spoken with Kislyak twice in 2016.

In July 2016, Kislyak held a "diplomacy conference" at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, during which his interactions with Trump officials became the subject of denial and controversy.

Since September 2017, he has represented Mordovia in the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian legislature.

In May 2017, Trump held a meeting with Kislyak and Sergei Lavrov and disclosed classified information about ISIS, an incident which was leaked to the press and became a scandal.

After nearly a decade in the U.S., Kislyak returned to Moscow in July 2017 and was formally relieved of his duties in August, succeeded by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Antonov.

Kislyak was born in Moscow, to Ukrainian parents.

According to a Times profile in March 2017, "He has interacted with American officials for decades and been a fixture on the Washington scene for the past nine years, jowly and cordial with an easy smile and fluent if accented English, yet a pugnacity in advocating Russia's assertive policies."

According to a profile in Politico, people who know Kislyak describe the ambassador "as intelligent but an unyielding advocate for the Kremlin line."

As the veteran ambassador to the United States, Kislyak became the subject of intense scrutiny and media coverage in 2017 in the wake of allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and that he held meetings with top advisers to then president-elect Donald Trump.

In February 2017, Michael T. Flynn was forced to resign as National Security Adviser when it emerged he lied about meetings with Kislyak.

On 10 May 2017 immediately after meeting with Henry Kissinger and one day after firing FBI Director James Comey, U.S. President Donald Trump invited Kislyak and Sergei Lavrov to meet with him in the Oval Office.

This meeting received significant coverage as it was closed to U.S. press, but the Russians brought in a photographer from state agency TASS, and released photos of Trump, Kisylak and Lavrov laughing together.

On 15 May, it was revealed that during this meeting, Trump disclosed classified information about ISIL's bomb-making capabilities without taking the appropriate protocols, which was leaked to the press.

Kislyak returned to Moscow at the end of July 2017.

On 21 August 2017, Putin formally released Kislyak from his duties as ambassador by decree of the President of Russia.