Sergey Kislyak

Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak (Russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Кисля́к, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ kʲɪˈslʲak]; born 7 September 1950) is a Russian senior diplomat and politician. Since September 2017, he has represented Mordovia in the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian legislature. Previously he served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United States from 2008 to 2017. 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. 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 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.