Meet The Russian Ambassador At The Center Of The Sessions’ Scandal
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mar 3, 2017
Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, Carter Page and Jeff Sessions, they all have something in common: they all met the Russian ambassador in the US, Sergey Kislyak, the object of non-stop leaks via the NYT/WaPo block, and substantial headaches for the Trump administration. Who is Sergey? The following profile of the Russian career diplomat courtesy of The Hill, should help answer some of lingering questions.
Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. has found himself thrust into the spotlight this week after the revelation that he twice spoke with Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the 2016 presidential campaign—contacts Sessions didn’t mention when asked about them under oath during his confirmation hearing.
Sergey Kislyak, Moscow’s soft-spoken ambassador to the U.S. who assumed his post in 2008, has gained significant notoriety following his conversations with several of President Trump’s associates.
Kislyak began making headlines early last month after revelations that, despite denials, Trump’s first national security adviser Michael Flynn spoke with him about sanctions before Trump took office. Flynn resigned after reports that he misled Vice President Pence about his conversations with the diplomat.
Then the The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Sessions, then an Alabama senator, spoke twice with the Russian envoy.
Sessions, who maintained Thursday he didn’t speak to the Russian official in his capacity as a surrogate of Trump’s campaign, announced that he would recuse himself from Department of Justice investigations involving Russia’s intervention in the 2016 presidential election.
Shortly after his press conference, the New York Times reported that Kislyak had met with Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner, along with Flynn, in December. And USA Today reported that he had met with two other former Trump foreign policy campaign aides — J.D. Gordon and Carter Page — in Cleveland as that city hosted the Republican National Convention last summer.
In a Thursday press conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Kislyak’s frequent meetings with Trump associates as just part of his job.
“I will reveal a military secret: diplomats work, and their work consists of making contacts within their assigned country,” Zakharova said. “This is written everywhere. If they do not make contacts and do not participate in talks, then they are not diplomats.”
Former U.S. ambassador to Russia John Beyrle described Kislyak as a low-profile diplomat to ABC News.
“He likes to operate behind the scenes,” Beyrle said.
“He’s 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.”
The Rest…HERE
