Russian Ambassador Antonov Takes Up His Duties After Returning To Washington - Embassy

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2021) Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has resumed his work in Washington, DC, after returning to the United States from Moscow, the Russian diplomatic mission has announced.

Earlier, a Sputnik correspondent reported that Antonov had arrived at the Embassy of Russia in Washington.

"On June 20, Anatoly Antonov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, returned to Washington, D.C. and took up his duties," the embassy said on Twitter.

The Russian diplomat departed from Moscow at around 9:20 a.m. local time on Sunday (6:20 GMT). The plane carrying Antonov landed at the JFK Airport in New York at 11:58 a.m. EST (15:58 GMT). The ambassador then headed for Washington.

Antonov told journalists upon his arrival in the United States that Russian diplomats in the US were ready to fix bilateral relations.

The ambassador said he would start scheduling consultations with US diplomats starting Monday to discuss the variety of issues raised by the presidents of the two countries during the Geneva summit on Wednesday.

Antonov told Sputnik on Sunday that he was flying back to the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington with optimism, noting that lots of work was ahead to rebuild bilateral relations.

Antonov and US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan traveled to their home countries for consultations this spring. At their summit in Geneva, presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden reached an agreement on the ambassadors' return.

Sullivan said on Saturday that he would return to Moscow soon.