Former Ambassadors Meet in DC
A ceremonial dinner was held in Washington's prestigious Metropolitan Club for U.S. ambassadors to Moscow and Soviet/Russian ambassadors to Washington. The event, suggested by former U.S. ambassador James Collins, sponsored by BP and the Washington International Group and hosted by the Carnegie Foundation, was well attended by the diplomatic elite.
Former ambassadors Viktor Komplektov, Yury Dubinin, Alexander Bessmertnykh and Vladimir Lukin were present. Anatoly Dobrynin was unable to travel from Moscow due to the state of his health. Current Ambassador Yury Ushakov was also present. Thomas Pickering was also unable to attend, for reasons not specified, but the remaining U.S. ambassadors back to Arthur Hartman, who began his service when Brezhnev was in power, attended, as did current Ambassador William Burns.
Former ambassador Alexander Vershbow, born in 1952, came from his current assignment in South Korea. He was the youngest member of the ambassadorial cadre present. The current ambassadors sat at the same table and whispered to each other throughout the event. “America and Russia are disappointed” in their bilateral relations, The U.S. ambassador told the Kommersant correspondent. His words were in keeping with the general mood at the dinner.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 26, 2007
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