Washington has “politely but firmly” rejected Rustem Umerov
when Kyiv proposed him as ambassador
to the United States for a second time, political scientist Ihor Reiterovych
told NV Radio on Aug. 10.
Reiterovych said the idea was “dead on arrival,” recalling that when Ukrainian officials first floated Umerov’s name, even before Olha Stefanishyna’s departure, U.S. diplomats made clear he was not an acceptable choice. He said Ukrainian officials were aware of Washington’s position but tried again after Stefanishyna left, only to receive a similar response from the U.S. State Department within days that the nomination was unacceptable.
Media reported on July 12 that Stefanishyna had asked
to leave the diplomatic service for personal reasons. Ukrainian MP Oleksii
Honcharenko said that same day that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of
Ukraine (NABU) is about to charge Stefanishyna with corruption.