Recall of US Ambassador to Armenia likely due to her activities in  Ukraine - expert 

ArmInfo. International relations expert Suren Sargsyan believes the recall of US Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien is likely due to her activities in Ukraine.

In his Facebook post, the expert recalled that late last year, it  became known that the Trump administration had decided to recall  approximately 30 ambassadors, including Kvien. He claimed this move  led to discussions about whether the ambassador was considered a  representative of the Biden team or whether she had clashed with  Trump's political team, which allegedly led to his resignation about  a month before the end of his term. "First of all, I would like to  point out that the United States has approximately 200 ambassadorial  positions in various countries and international organizations around  the world, of which approximately 50 percent are currently vacant.  Moreover, this number does not include the 30 ambassadors whose  recalls were recently announced. It is also difficult to imagine that  these ambassadors were recalled early simply because they were  appointed by the Biden administration. Currently, approximately 75  ambassadors, also appointed by Biden, continue to serve in various  countries. Therefore, it would be a mistake to assume that Trump is  systematically firing ambassadors loyal to Biden," the expert stated.   Sarkissian noted that political loyalty is characteristic of  ambassadors who receive political appointments, rather than career  ambassadors who never engage in politics, have no obvious party  affiliation, and operate solely within the diplomatic service.

He added that it is also unlikely that the State Department or the  administration were dissatisfied with the performance of the US  Ambassador to Armenia. He noted that ambassadors never act contrary  to the law or the political line of their country's leadership, and  in such cases, they are quickly pushed out of the system, as once  happened with former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans. Therefore,  it is more likely that the reasons for the recall of the 30  ambassadors are varied and quite diverse.

"I do not rule out that in the case of Armenia, the decision may be  related not to the ambassador's activities in Armenia, but to his  previous service in the country, which is the focus of Trump's full  attention," Sargsyan wrote.

It is worth noting that since January 2020, Kristina Kvien has served  as the US Charge d'Affaires a.i. in Ukraine, becoming Deputy Chief of  Mission in Ukraine and assuming her responsibilities after the  departure of the previous ambassador. She was also conspicuous by her  active involvement during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.