The first female US ambassador to Russia is leaving her role after serving through one of the most difficult periods in relations between the two countries.
Lynne Tracy, who has been based in Moscow, said she is “proud to have represented my country” in the Russian capital “during such a challenging time”.
There is no suggestion she has been removed from her role by the Trump administration.
The departure of the career diplomat appointed by former president Joe Biden comes as Russia and the United States discuss a potential reset in their ties, which sharply deteriorated after Moscow launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022.
President Donald Trump has said there are potentially big investment deals to be struck, but is growing increasingly frustrated that his efforts to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine have so far not resulted in a meaningful ceasefire.
In a statement shared by the US embassy in Russia on Telegram, Ms Tracy said: “As I leave Russia, I know that my colleagues at the embassy will continue to work to improve our relations and maintain ties with the Russian people.
“I have been inspired by my meetings with Russians who love their country and work every day for a better future. I would like to conclude with lines from Pushkin’s poem ‘To Chaadayev’, which speak of the love for the Motherland that lives in each of us. Goodbye!”
The embassy said it wanted to “express our gratitude for her contributions based on consistent diplomacy, deep respect for Russian culture, and dedicated service to the American people”.
In a statement earlier this month, the embassy said Ms Tracy, who arrived in Moscow in January 2023 and was greeted by protesters chanting anti-US slogans when she went to the foreign ministry to present her credentials, would leave her post soon.
She was notably involved in efforts to win the release of US citizens jailed in Russia, including journalist Evan Gershkovich and former marine Paul Whelan, who were eventually freed in August 2024 as part of a big East-West prisoner swap.
Ms Tracy, who took over from John Sullivan, had previously served as the second-highest official at the US Embassy in Moscow, the deputy chief of mission, from 2014 to 2017.
She was the ambassador to Armenia at the time she was nominated to replace Mr Sullivan after he retired.
Ms Tracy, who speaks Russian, had also worked at US diplomatic outposts including Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. She majored in Soviet Studies and holds a law degree.
Donald Trump’s administration will be allowed to take steps to implement its proposal to end automatic birthright citizenship in the US following a decision by the Supreme Court.
Under the current rules, nearly anyone born on US territory has automatic citizenship rights – commonly known as “birthright citizenship”.
But in January, on his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending that right.
A series of lawsuits followed, with district courts issuing nationwide injunctions aiming to block the order from taking effect.
The Supreme Court on Friday voted 6-3 to allow the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by judges so that they apply only to states, groups and individuals that sued.
This means the birthright citizenship proposal can likely move forward at least in part in the states that challenged it, as well as those that did not.
Image: Campaigners argue that restricting automatic birthright citizenship is an erosion of people’s constitutional rights. Pic: AP
Image: People demonstrated outside the Supreme Court in May. Pic: Reuters
The US president responded with a post on Truth Social by welcoming the ruling as a “giant win”.
At a news conference at the White House, he said: “In recent months, we’ve seen a handful of radical left judges effectively try to overrule the rightful powers of the president… to dictate the law for the entire nation… this was a colossal abuse of power.”
He went on to suggest the current birthright was being abused and had originally been designed for a different era, to give the descendants of slaves the right to citizenship.
“It wasn’t meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country on a vacation. It was meant for the babies of slaves. Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring into our country under birthright citizenship,” he said.
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In a wide-ranging news conference, he also said he would consider bombing Iran again if they continued their nuclear programme and expects the country to open itself to international inspections.
He also said he was preparing fresh trade tariffs for several countries and had secured mineral rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is signing a peace deal with Rwanda at the White House to end years of fighting.
Friday’s Supreme Court decision was focused on cases filed in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state.
The policy remains blocked for now in one additional state, New Hampshire, as a result of a separate lawsuit that is not before the Supreme Court.
Mr Trump’s plan has the backing of 21 other states.
Image: Pic: picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Friday’s ruling was decided on a 6-3 vote following a divide on ideological lines, with conservatives in the majority and liberals in dissent.
Mr Trump previously helped shape the makeup of the court with the appointment of three judges, ensuring a 6-3 conservative majority, though past rulings have still not always gone in his favour.
It has long been widely accepted, including by legal scholars on the left and right in the US, that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment confers automatic citizenship to almost anyone born in the United States.
Mr Trump wants that restricted to only those with at least one parent who is a US citizen or permanent resident.
Friday’s ruling does not examine the legal merits of the policy, but only whether judges had the authority to put it on hold across the entire country.
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As a result of the ruling, the proposal can potentially move forward nationwide, although individuals could still file their own lawsuits at the state level.
Those currently challenging the policy could also still reinstate injunctions which are less broad in scope.
The US president and his allies have been harshly critical of judges who have blocked aspects of his agenda, although it is not a new phenomenon for courts to impose nationwide injunctions.
His administration has battled against judges who have issued nationwide injunctions in response to a bold and aggressive use of executive power to implement a controversial agenda, including ramping up deportations, downsizing federal agencies, targeting law firms and universities and firing thousands of federal employees.
An Egyptian man has admitted federal charges after kicking a customs dog at a US airport, authorities say.
Hamad Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, 70, pleaded guilty to “harming animals used in law enforcement” during an appearance in the US District Court of eastern Virginia on Wednesday.
Five-year-old male beagle Freddie allegedly detected more than 100lbs (45kg) of undeclared agricultural products in Marie’s luggage after he arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport from Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday.
When Freddie’s handler started questioning the passenger, he kicked the 25lb (11kg) animal so hard that it was lifted off the ground, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
Image: CCTV captured the moment Freddie was kicked. Pic: US Homeland Security
A veterinarian determined that Freddie suffered contusions to his right rib area as a result of being kicked.
Marie was placed in handcuffs by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, who found 55lbs (24.9kg) of beef meat, 44lbs (20kg) of rice, 15lbs (6.8kg) of eggplant, cucumbers and bellpeppers, 2lbs (0.9kg) of corn seeds, and 1lb (0.5kg) of herbs in his luggage, according to authorities.
All agricultural products were seized as they are prohibited, to prevent the introduction of harmful plant pests and foreign animal diseases from entering the country.
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“Being caught deliberately smuggling well over 100lbs of undeclared and prohibited agricultural products does not give one permission to violently assault a defenceless Customs and Border Protection beagle,” said Christine Waugh, the CBP’s director for the area port of Washington DC.
“We rely heavily on our K9 partners and Freddie was just doing his job.
“Any malicious attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and CBP will continue to work with our investigating and prosecuting partners to deal swift and severe justice to perpetrators.”
Marie was credited with time served after being taken into custody on Tuesday and was ordered to pay the veterinarian’s fee of $840 (£612) for Freddie’s treatment, a court filing shows.
He was also told to immediately report to CBP for removal from the US, and he left the country on a flight to Egypt at 12.30pm local time on Thursday.
Nike’s costs will go up $1bn (£728m) this year if US President Donald Trump’s tariffs remain at the current level, the company has told investors.
It follows a warning from the sports brand last month that it would raise prices due to the taxes imposed on imports.
Work to bring down costs is under way, including reducing supplies from China to the US.
It’s to reduce the amount of footwear made in China and imported to the US from 16% currently to a “high single digit” figure with Chinese supply being “reallocated to other countries around the world”.
On 2 April, Mr Trump announced country-specific tariffs which hit China hardest and escalated after several rounds of retaliatory rises.
After an agreement between Washington and Beijing the levy was brought down from a 145% tariff to 30% on Chinese goods.
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1:42
Trump’s tariffs: What you need to know
Price rises for consumers will start to come into effect in the autumn.
The latest warning on tariffs comes as Nike reported the worst quarterly results in more than three years.
Revenues were $11.1bn (£8.1bn) – the lowest since the third quarter of 2022.
It has been dealing with the after-effects of an unsuccessful move to sell direct-to-consumer with Wall Street analysts also critical of its dependence on lifestyle products and reliance on fashion trends.
Nike chief executive Elliott Hill had returned from retirement last year to again take the top job at the company.
The worst of the trade wars have already occurred, Mr Hill said, with “the headwinds to moderate from here”.