Ukraine and Russia will leave the top jobs at their respective embassies empty for the time being.
According to an official letter from Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the agency “has not submitted any recommendations… for the appointment to the position of ambassador [to Russia] for the President of Ukraine’s consideration.”
The letter, written in response to a request by Violetta Chaykovska, a journalist with the Ukrainian News Agency, was published on Feb. 10, the same day Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country “would not mind” if Ukraine appointed an ambassador in an interview with the state publication Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
The letter also states that, while Russian media claimed Moscow was selecting candidates to serve as the ambassador to Ukraine in January, Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not receive any official requests regarding the appointment.
Ukraine and Russia recalled their respective ambassadors in 2015 and 2016 after Russia annexed Crimea and backed militants who seized control of parts of the country’s eastern Donbas region.
