Alexander Darchiev, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, dies at 66
The diplomat died in Moscow of a chronic illness, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson. He had headed the embassy in Washington since 2025.
Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, died Wednesday at the age of 66, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. He had led Moscow’s mission in Washington since March 2025, a period marked by the war in Ukraine and contacts between the governments of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Darchiev died in Moscow of a chronic illness, without specifying the condition. She added that the time and place of a memorial service would be announced later, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
The ministry expressed condolences to his family and described him as an experienced diplomat and specialist in U.S. affairs. Funeral details had not been announced, according to The Associated Press.
A career focused on North America
Darchiev was appointed ambassador to Washington on March 6, 2025. He succeeded Anatoly Antonov, who left the post in late 2024. Before his appointment, Darchiev had headed the Foreign Ministry’s North America department since January 2021, according to Kommersant.
He had previously served at the Russian Embassy in Washington, as a counselor from 1997 to 2002 and as minister-counselor from 2005 to 2010, according to a profile by Prensa Latina. He was ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2021, then returned to lead Russian diplomacy on North America.
Born in 1960, he studied history at Moscow State University and worked at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies before joining the diplomatic service in 1992, the same profile said.
Relations during wartime
Before formally taking up his embassy post, Darchiev led a Russian delegation in talks with U.S. officials in Istanbul in February 2025, AP reported. His appointment came shortly after Trump returned to the White House.
Contacts between Washington and Moscow have continued alongside deep differences over Ukraine and European security. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, continues, and U.S.-backed talks have not produced an overall agreement to end the war.
On Wednesday, Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. delegations concluded two days of talks in Abu Dhabi. Moscow and Kyiv reported an agreement for another prisoner exchange but announced no decisive breakthrough on ending the fighting.
