- Title: Trump to nominate Huntsman as Russia ambassador: White House official
- Date: 18th July 2017
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - MAY 25, 2010) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FORMER CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO SHAKING HANDS WITH THEN U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA JON HUNTSMAN, AS FORMER U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON AND FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY TIMOTHY GEITHNER LOOK ON FORMER CHINESE PREMIER WEN JIABAO SHAKING HANDS WITH HUNTSMAN AS HILLARY CLINTON AND GEITHNER LOOK ON BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - MAY 24, 2010) (REUTERS) CHINESE AND U.S. OFFICIALS GATHERED TO TAKE GROUP PHOTO AT CHINA-U.S. ECONOMIC STRATEGIC DIALOGUE HUNTSMAN TALKING TO FORMER U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY GARY LOCKE PEOPLE SEATED AT MEETING TABLE HILLARY CLINTON AND HUNSTMAN TALKING BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - APRIL 20, 2011) (REUTERS) CHINESE VICE PREMIER WANG QISHAN SHAKING HANDS WITH HUNTSMAN NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - JUNE 14, 2011) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIR HAROLD EVANS ASKING: "When are you going to declare if you're running for president?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) JON HUNTSMAN SAYING: "Is anybody listening to this broadcast?" EVANS RESPONDING: "No, there's only a few hangers-on here." HUNTSMAN SAYING: "Well, since we're in select company and there aren't a lot of people listening in, I intend to announce that I will be a candidate for the presidency a week from today."
- Embargoed: 2nd August 2017 00:51
- Keywords: Jon Huntsman Russian ambassador
- Location: BEIJING, CHINA / NEW YORK, NEW YORK / EXETER + MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, UNITED STATES
- City: BEIJING, CHINA / NEW YORK, NEW YORK / EXETER + MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, UNITED STATES
- Country: Various
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016Q8X7IF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.S. President Donald Trump will nominate Jon Huntsman, an envoy to China under former Democratic President Barack Obama, as U.S. ambassador to Russia, the White House said on Tuesday (July 18).
The job, all the more high-profile because of allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
If confirmed, Huntsman, who has long been expected to be Trump's pick for the job, will head to Moscow as the U.S. Congress and a special counsel investigate Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and allegations that Trump's campaign had ties to Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the interference, and Trump has said there was no collusion with Moscow.
Huntsman, a former Utah governor, was U.S. ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011. He has served in the administrations of five U.S. presidents and was a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russia.
The Republican president met with Putin in Germany at the gathering of G20 leaders there earlier this month and officials said he raised the issue of Russian meddling in the election before moving on to other issues such as the war in Syria.
Reports in March that Huntsman would get the Moscow envoy post were greeted with mixed reviews in Moscow, with one politician saying he was "not a dove" and the Kremlin saying it would welcome anyone who was a "convinced proponent" of establishing a dialog with Russia. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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