Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, says he has been frozen by officials in Washington amid Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine – and that he has not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin in years. “Honestly, we are excluded,” Antonov, 66, told Politico about himself and his empty embassy in an exclusive interview published Monday. According to Politico, the Russian envoy can not meet with senior officials of the White House or the US State Department. U.S. lawmakers also refused to meet with Antonov after the election of President Joe Biden and will not even take a photo with him, according to the news agency. Antonov told Politico, however, that diplomatic relations had not been completely severed and that the Russian embassy still had “technical” or lower-level contacts with the Biden government. The disconnection cannot continue forever, Antonov told Politico during an interview last week at the Russian Embassy in Ukraine. “We are doomed to work together on various issues,” Antonov said. “It is impossible to imagine, even under such circumstances, that problems of strategic stability, climate change, the coronavirus, the fight against terrorism, the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction could be resolved without the active involvement of the United States and Russia.” The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider on Monday. A State Department spokesman told Politico: “The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs maintains diplomatic relations with the Russian Embassy in DC. It is a difficult relationship, but the lines of communication remain open.” Antonov, meanwhile, told Politico that Putin was not talking to him either. The two have not spoken since Antonov left for his position in Washington in 2017, Antonov told Politico. And they have had no communication since Putin launched the war against Ukraine on February 24. However, Antonov insisted that he still had a direct line of contact with the Kremlin. “I have had several conversations with senior officials in the Kremlin, in various departments,” Antonov told Politico, adding: “We have a different system.” Asked by Politico if he had had a telephone conversation with Putin since becoming ambassador, Antonov replied: “To give the FBI a chance to hear everything Putin could say. [to] my?”
