Secretary Victoria Noland

October 2021, US Undersecretary Victoria Nuland arrived at the Russian Foreign Ministry for a meeting in Moscow. Across the table from her sat Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, whom Victoria had known for decades and had a mutual relationship with. Sergei Ryabkov was considered by American diplomats to be a calm, pragmatic diplomat who could be negotiated with despite the deteriorating relations between Russia and the United States.⏱️
But this time things were different. ⏱️Sergei Ryabkov read Russia's official position from paper and avoided further discussion, ⏱️despite the efforts of Victoria Noland. According to two people who spoke to Victoria about the incident, she was shocked⏱️. According to these people, Victoria described Sergei Ryabkov and one of his fellow diplomats