US President Joe Biden intends to appoint Lynn Tracy, a career diplomat currently working in Armenia, as the next ambassador to Russia, three sources familiar with the matter said, citing CNN, writes News.ro.

Tracey, who speaks Russian and was the No. 2 diplomat in Moscow from 2014 to 2017, will be the first woman in the post. Since 2019, she has been the ambassador to Armenia.

The Biden administration hopes she will be quickly appointed to replace John Sullivan, who resigned this month. The moment of her arrival and official appointment depend on whether Russia will accept her as ambassador, at a time of great tension between Washington and Moscow, in conditions where the war in Ukraine continues.

Usually, the host country approves the name of the proposed ambassador before his official appointment through a procedure called consent. According to two sources, the US has already passed Lynn Tracy’s name to the Russians to begin the process.

U.S. officials say Russia wants to maintain diplomatic relations with the United States and may be motivated to host Tracy without delaying the procedure to ensure its ambassador in Washington remains in touch.

A spokesman for the State Department declined to comment.

The Americans want to quickly have a strong diplomatic team in Moscow

Tracy’s appointment will mean a complete restructuring of the embassy’s leadership in Moscow. Sullivan was away from Russia for most of the summer, staying in the US with his wife, who was seriously ill and died last week.

Elizabeth Rudd, the deputy mission, held her ground, especially when she attended the trial of basketball player Brittney Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for trafficking cannabis in August. Rood was named the next US ambassador to Turkmenistan.

American officials emphasize that they intend to quickly have a strong diplomatic team in Moscow.

In addition to the war in Ukraine, the issue of Americans detained in Russia is likely to be a priority for the new ambassador. Sullivan played a key role in the release of Trevor Reed earlier this year. He said that after Reed’s release, he was active in the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, both imprisoned in Russia.

CNN reported that the US had offered a prisoner exchange to secure the release of Griner and Whelan.

Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said last week that negotiations between the US and Russia to secure the release of the two “continue to take place” despite Sullivan’s departure.