Russian anxiety rises with US envoy choice

MOSCOW: Reports that Jon Huntsman will become the next United States ambassador to Russia have stirred anxiety in Moscow, with one politician calling him a hawk and proKremlin media recalling what they said was his worrying history of hostile rhetoric.

An official in US President Donald Trump’s administration said on Thursday that Huntsman, a onetime Republican presidential candidate and ambassador to China and Singapore, had accepted Trump’s offer to represent the United States in Moscow, a move that needs Senate confirmation.

With USRussia relations at their worst since the Cold War and Russia a politically toxic issue in Washington as hacking and influencepeddling scandals threaten to erupt, Russian officials are looking for clues as to where the troubled relationship might be going.

‘‘The choice of nominee for US ambassador in Moscow says a lot,’’ said Alexei Pushkov, a Senator who has in the past said he hoped that Trump could deliver better USRussia ties.

‘‘Huntsman used to be the head of the Atlantic Council, where harsh criticism of Russia has become the norm. He is definitely not a dove.’’

Trump was mainly surrounding himself with people who did not want to improve relations, Pushkov complained. ‘‘It will make the search for common ground harder,’’ he said.

Russian officials watched with dismay last month as Trump replaced his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who they saw as a possible ally, after a Russiarelated scandal. He was replaced by Army Lieutenantgeneral H.R. McMaster, who is more hawkish on Russia.

In another move likely to disappoint Moscow, two officials told Reuters the administration had offered the job of top Russia adviser at the National Security Council to Russia scholar Fiona Hill, a leading critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Huntsman, in Russian eyes, was therefore the latest in a series of setbacks.

Putin’s spokesman, said Moscow would welcome any US ambassador who was ‘‘a convinced proponent’’ of the idea of establishing a dialogue with Russia.

His caution reflects how far the Kremlin has had to scale down its expectations of a rapprochement. The Russian parliament erupted in applause when it learned Trump had won the US election, amid hopes he might ease sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis.

The mood has changed dramatically since, with state television scaling back its Trump coverage and the Kremlin adopting a waitandsee approach. — Reuters