Alexander Darchiev, Russia’s ambassador to the United States since March 2025, died Wednesday at 66, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said he died in Moscow after a chronic illness. She did not identify the illness. The ministry’s announcement did not name a successor in Washington.
Darchiev took the post after a period without a Russian ambassador in Washington. His predecessor, Anatoly Antonov, left in late 2024. President Vladimir Putin appointed Darchiev in March 2025, and the new ambassador presented his credentials to President Donald Trump that June. Darchiev told Trump then that he intended to work toward restoring relations between the two countries, Reuters reported at the time.
From embassy talks to the Washington post
The assignment brought Darchiev back to an embassy where he had served twice. In his second Washington posting, from 2005 to 2010, he was minister-counselor. He went on to serve as Russia’s ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2021 and later led North America and North Atlantic departments at Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
Before his appointment, Darchiev led the Russian delegation at a February 2025 meeting with U.S. diplomats in Istanbul. It dealt with how the two countries could keep their embassies operating after years of expulsions, office closures and other restrictions. The U.S. State Department said its delegation raised access to banking and contractors, as well as stable staffing at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. The countries identified initial steps to address those problems, a State Department spokesman told The Associated Press.
The Istanbul meeting followed a broader round of U.S. and Russian talks in Riyadh. While those earlier talks addressed relations and efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, an American embassy official in Turkey said the Istanbul meeting focused on the two diplomatic missions. The talks put Darchiev on the embassy staffing and operations portfolio before he took over the Washington post.
Under Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a chargé d’affaires serves as temporary head when an ambassador’s position is vacant. The sending country notifies the host government who will fill that interim role. That arrangement allows the diplomatic mission to continue its work while a permanent appointment is pending. Zakharova said the ministry would release details of a memorial service later. In its initial announcement, the ministry gave no date or location for the funeral.
