Russia‘s ambassador to the United States, a staunch Kremlin supporter, is set to return to Moscow, as reported by state media, marking the conclusion of his term during a period of unprecedented tension between the two countries.

According to the TASS news agency, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced, “Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Ivanovich Antonov is wrapping up his assignment in Washington and is en route to Moscow.”

Antonov, 69, who hails from Siberia and has had a long career in diplomacy, is regarded as a hardliner yet has demonstrated an ability to negotiate. He has led the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington since 2017 and indicated in July that his tenure was nearing its end.

There has been no announcement regarding his successor, who is viewed as a negotiator with a military approach. Antonov’s position on Russia’s military actions in Ukraine has consistently reflected unwavering support for President Vladimir Putin. In a recent post on the Telegram messaging app, he stated, “It is clear to us that the enemy will be defeated and victory will belong to Russia,” while commenting on Russian forces’ capture of the Ukrainian town of Vuhledar.

Russia characterizes its actions in Ukraine as a special military operation, alleging that Washington and its NATO allies are conducting a hybrid war in the region. In contrast, Kyiv and its Western partners assert that Moscow’s aggression represents an unprovoked imperialistic effort to seize territory.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 marked the most significant confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, a period when the Soviet Union and the United States were on the brink of nuclear conflict.

Antonov, who held the position of deputy defense minister during the time of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, was subjected to European sanctions when he was appointed by Putin as Russia’s ambassador to the United States. He graduated in 1978 from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the primary diplomatic training institution of the Soviet Union. According to his biography on the embassy’s website, Antonov spent the subsequent thirty years advancing through the ranks of the foreign ministry.

Prior to relocating to Washington, he gained a reputation as a savvy negotiator in arms control, having led Russian delegations in various international discussions on strategic weapons. In an interview with TASS in August, Antonov expressed Russia’s willingness to explore a treaty with Washington regarding arms control. “My approach to negotiations is quite straightforward: we should each take a piece of paper and outline our respective desires,” he stated. “Then, we can compare the two lists to identify any common ground, no matter how small, and use that as a foundation for addressing the issues at hand.”