New US ambassador to Russia in place after Kremlin visit

MOSCOW – The new US ambassador to Russia presented his diplomatic credentials to President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony in the Kremlin, a move that marks the formal start of Jon Huntsman's work in Russia.

Huntsman, who has twice served as a US ambassador, arrived in Moscow on Sunday to take over from John Tefft who left Russia two days earlier after serving in Russia for three years, a period that was marred by a deep and rapid deterioration of ties, unseen since the end of the Cold War. The relationship soured even further in recent months following a series of expulsions of diplomats and closures of diplomatic missions.

Huntsman, the former Utah governor who once called for Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race, won easy confirmation as US ambassador last week. He was the nation's top diplomat to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and ambassador to China under President Barack Obama before returning to the US to run for president in 2012.