Ambassador Lynne Tracy has expressed her hope for a “more peaceful future” in 2025
The US remains open to “constructive dialogue” with Russia, the American ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, said in her New Year’s address. The diplomat refrained from mentioning the ongoing conflict in Ukraine by name while expressing her hope for a “more peaceful future” for both nations.
Washington and Moscow “must continue to find ways to sustain old ties and build new ones between Russians and Americans,” Tracy stated in a two-minute video address published on the embassy’s account on X on Tuesday.
“Our door also remains open to respectful and constructive dialogue with Russian government officials despite the profound disagreements we have on many issues,” the ambassador added.
Tracy emphasized the “tremendous need for diplomacy,” noting that “conflicts and uncertainty continue to take a heavy toll across the world, including in this region,” in an apparent reference to the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, where Washington has been actively supporting the Ukrainian side with military and financial assistance.
Tracy assumed her role as US envoy to Moscow in January 2023, when relations between the two nations were already at a low point, according to Russian officials. Just a week before her arrival, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that ties between Russia and the US were “probably at their lowest point, historically.”
The Kremlin reiterated this assessment in November 2024, when Peskov stated it was “almost impossible to worsen relations,” describing the US as an “unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in the war against our state.”
The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden has been one of Kiev’s biggest supporters, committing billions in military aid and discussing the need to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia.
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in November sparked speculation about possible peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine; however, the Kremlin denied having any contacts with the president-elect or his team regarding the issue thus far.
Tracy’s tenure as ambassador to Russia has also been contentious, as she has been summoned multiple times by the Russian Foreign Ministry, primarily related to the US’s increasing involvement in the Ukraine conflict and what Moscow described as “blatant interference in internal affairs” of Russia.
