Russia won’t be represented at Trump’s inauguration – Putin’s top aide
It is unlikely that any officials from Moscow will attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, the Russian president’s special aide on foreign policy, Yuri Ushakov, has revealed.
Trump is set to be sworn in on Monday for his second term in the White House. By tradition, countries that have diplomatic relations with the US send their envoys to the ceremony.
Moscow will not have a plenipotentiary at the ceremony, however. “No one will represent Russia at the inauguration,” Ushakov told reporters at the Kremlin on Friday.
Russia currently doesn’t have an ambassador in Washington, he explained. If Moscow's charge d’affaires receives an invitation, a representative could attend the inauguration after all, Ushakov said.
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who had been in Washington since August 2017, was recalled by the Kremlin in October. Russian media have mentioned diplomat Alexander Darchiev, Moscow’s former envoy to Canada, as the most likely replacement but there has been no official confirmation of a new ambassadorial appointment.
Trump won the electoral college and the popular vote in November’s election, making him the second-ever US president to win non-consecutive terms. Traditionally, members of Congress, justices of the US Supreme Court, and any former presidents and their spouses attend the inaugural ceremonies, along with foreign ambassadors and any special guests invited by the new president.
