Biden decided to appoint Bridget Brink as ambassador to Ukraine, Kiev has not yet approved the candidacy Biden chose the candidacy of Bridget Brink, who heads the diplomatic mission in Slovakia. Kiev has not yet approved it
US President Joe Biden has chosen a candidate for the post of ambassador to Ukraine, CNN reports, citing sources in Washington and Kiev. We are talking about Bridget Brink, who is now head of the American diplomatic mission in Slovakia. The information is confirmed by Bloomberg sources.
CNN notes that Brink has not been officially nominated because the US has not yet received the approval of the Ukrainian government, which may take up to several weeks. According to a channel source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the country's authorities are negotiating her appointment.
A senior Ukrainian official stressed that this is a standard check, the process is proceeding without delay, since Washington nominated Brink about a week ago .
The position of the American ambassador to Ukraine has remained vacant since May 2019, when the previous head of the diplomatic mission, Marie Yovanovitch, was recalled to Washington. Donald Trump was then President of the United States. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump's lawyer Rudolph Giuliani claimed that the ambassador prevented him from “persuading” Kiev authorities to launch an investigation against the company Burisma, in which Hunter Biden worked— son of the current head of state. Chargé d'Affaires Christina Quinn is currently representing the United States in Ukraine.
Brink became the US Ambassador to Slovakia in July 2019. She previously served on the National Security Council and in the US embassies in Serbia, Uzbekistan, and Georgia. Foreign Policy wrote last December that Biden was considering appointing her to Ukraine.
In January, amid tensions over Ukraine and Western fears that Russia might be preparing to attack a neighboring country (Moscow is denies) a number of states announced the departure of some diplomats and family members from Kiev, including the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was disappointed in the actions of countries, saying that Kiev needs the support of allies on the spot.
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