Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, won’t be participating in a briefing held Wednesday by Russian officials regarding the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, state-run media reported.
“The U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman will not attend the meeting today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Maria Olson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, the TASS newswire reported Wednesday.
“The U.S. Embassy is considering sending a working level participant” in the ambassador’s place, the spokesperson added.
The press office for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow did not immediately return an email seeking further information.
A former Russian spy who later aided British intelligence, Mr. Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yuli Skripal were found unconscious March 4 on a public bench in the English city of Salisbury. British authorities subsequently determined that they were poisoned by a Russian nerve agent, and the U.K. and U.S. have since issued statements holding Russia responsible.
Russia has denied responsibility for poisoning the Skripals. Nonetheless, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, announced on Tuesday this week that accredited ambassadors had been invited to discuss the incident during “a meeting with the senior officials and experts of the Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department” Wednesday.
The U.K.’s ambassador to Russia planned to miss the meeting as well, The Moscow Times reported.
Mr. Huntsman, 57, has served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia since 2017. A Republican, Mr. Huntsman previously served as governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009, and the U.S. ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011. More recently he unsuccessfully sought the Republican Party’s nomination during the 2012 U.S. presidential election.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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