John Beyrle
Encyclopedia
John R. Beyrle a career Foreign Service Officer
and specialist in Russian and Eastern European affairs, is currently Ambassador of the United States to the Russian Federation.
. His father, Joseph Beyrle
, was a decorated World War II
veteran, who was the only soldier in World War II to serve with both the United States Army
and the Soviet Army
. He received his bachelor's degree
from Grand Valley State University
, and a Master of Science
degree from the National War College
. Beyrle completed additional language study in Russian at Middlebury College
. He spent the spring semester of 1976 on an exchange program at Leningrad State University.
Following graduation from the university, he served as a Russian-speaking exhibit guide at several of the major exhibits held in the Soviet Union
under a program of exchanges organized by the United States Information Agency
.
He joined the State Department
in 1983, served his first tour as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow
(1983–1985), and later was Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow (2003–2005). His other overseas assignments included political officer in Bulgaria (1985–1987), Counselor for political and economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Prague
; and member of the U.S. delegation to the Conventional Forces in Europe negotiations in Vienna
.
His Washington assignments included Acting Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States; Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council
(1993–1995); staff officer to Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker
; and foreign policy adviser to U.S. Senator Paul Simon
.
Beyrle became Ambassador to Bulgaria on September 8, 2005, and served in that position until June 25, 2008. During his term as ambassador, Bulgaria signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States allowing U.S. soldiers to train at Bulgarian bases (see article on Bulgarian-American relations
). He also oversaw the end of U.S. assistance to Bulgaria from the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), and made several public speeches urging the Bulgarian Government to step up its fight against organized crime and corruption. In 2007 he made a joint tour of several American cities with Bulgarian Ambassador to the United States Elena Poptodorova, to encourage more American businesses to invest in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian press was generally very favorable toward Ambassador Beyrle, due in large part to his ability to speak and give interviews in Bulgarian
. The daily newspaper Standart commented: "for the first time he explained in fluent Bulgarian why the United States is concerned about organized crime and corruption in Bulgaria."
Before Beyrle left Bulgaria, President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov
presented him with the Stara Planina Medal, the highest award of the Bulgarian Government, for his contributions to Bulgarian-American relations
.
Ambassador Beyrle was nominated by President George W. Bush
on May 13, 2008 to be the United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 27. He arrived in Moscow
to present his credentials on July 3, 2008.
Ambassador Beyrle arrived in Moscow on July 3, 2008 and attended the Fourth of July reception at Spaso House
, then returned to the United States for consultations. He returned to Moscow in August 2008, shortly after the brief 2008 South Ossetia War
, and immediately began meetings with the Russian government. On September 11 in an interview on the Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy he noted that the United States had warned the Georgian government not to respond to provocations and not to send troops into South Ossetia
, and he criticized the Russian actions in Georgia
, particularly the rapid recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
.
He also stated: "The most important step is simply to keep the channels of dialogue open. We are ready to do that, and we see that the Russian side is ready to do that, because there will always be times when our world views don’t agree. But it’s at particularly those difficult moments when we don’t agree that we need to carry on a dialogue; when it’s necessary to talk, to listen well and to hear the meaning of the other side, because without that the possibilities of misunderstanding are very dangerous.".
He formally presented his credentials to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
at the Kremlin on September 18, 2008.
in November 2008, Beyrle, because of his Russian expertise, was asked by President Obama to remain at his post in Moscow. He took an active part in the Obama administration's efforts to "reset" the Russian-American relationship and gave interviews in Russian about the new administration's Russia policy on radio station Ekho Moskvy, and the Russian TV channels First Canal and Vesti-24. He participated in the meeting of President Obama with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in July 2009 and the meetings of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Medvedev on October 13. He gave speeches in Russian to explain America's desire for better relations with Russia to university student audiences in Vladivostok
, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy-Novgorod and Sochi
.
On U.S. Veteran's Day in 2009, Ambassador Beyrle invited a large number of Russian World War II
veterans to his residence, Spaso House, to highlight the wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union
. He presided over the return to Russia of a medallion belonging to Czar Nicholas II, which had been stolen from the Hermitage Museum
in the 1990s and recovered by a joint operation of the Russian Ministry of Culture and Russian Prosecutor's office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He took part in the second visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Moscow in March 2010, when Clinton met with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
and discussed arms control
, sanctions against Iran
and other political and economic issues where the United States wished to obtain Russian support.
Beyrle was the first American Ambassador to Russia to use his own blog, in Russian, to speak directly to the Russian internet audience. On March 30, the day after the bombing in the Moscow Metro
which killed thirty nine people, Beyrle laid flowers at the site of the bombing and used his blog to express his reaction: "I am here to express my personal sympathy to the families of the victims of this terrible terrorist act, I want to express the solidarity of the American People with the Russian people in the fight against extremism and terrorism, We must work together so this kind of horrible crime will never happen again."
On October 29, 2010, Ambassador Beyrle celebrated the connections between American and Russian literature and culture by hosting an Enchanted Ball at Spaso House
. The ball recalled the Spring Ball of 1935 held by Ambassador William Bullitt
, when the house was decorated with live birds, a birch forest, and a real bear. One of the guests at the 1935 ball was writer Mikhail Bulgakov
, who used elements of that ball as an inspiration for Woland's Ball in his novel Master and Margarita. Guests at the 2010 ball included theater director Oleg Tabakov
, writer Victor Erofeev and sculptors Zurab Tsereteli
and Alexander Bourganov
.
President Medvedev denounced the act as "monstrous" and the Russian press reacted with fury, calling for the end of to adoptions of Russian children by Americans. Ambassador Beyrle held a sidewalk press conference before the Russian media, and said he was "shocked... and very angry that any family would act so callously toward a child that they had legally adopted." Russia was the third leading source of adoptive children in the United States in 2009, with 1,586 Russian children adopted by American families. The result of the crisis was the negotiation of a new agreement between the United States and Russia calling for closer monitoring of adopted Russian children in the United States. The agreement was signed in 2011.
Beyrle condemned the leaks of classified cables in his blog and in interviews, but noted in an interview with the Moscow Times on December 7th that "We have been heartened by the official reaction we've heard from our Russian colleagues. I think Foreign Minister [Sergei] Lavrov said it best: 'Form conclusions based on actions, not based on words...."If you look at the results that we've accomplished over the last two years in U.S.-Russian relations, they are quite significant and quite positive.".
In his blog on December 3, 2010, Beyrle said: " I see that our partners around the world have taken a balanced approach to this hullabaloo. Therefore, I can safely say that the relationships we have succeeded in strengthening over the past two years with our partners and allies around the world have withstood this minor trial with dignity."
using Russian airspace. Russian law enforcement agencies began cooperating more regularly with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
. The U.S. military carried out several joint military exercises with the Russian military, and U.S. aircraft took part in the Moscow air show. For the first time U.S. soldiers participated in the parade on Red Square
marking the anniversary of the end of World War Two. Though serious differences remained over missile defense
, the occupation of Georgian territory and human rights
, the political relationship was less confrontational than it had been in previous years.
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
and specialist in Russian and Eastern European affairs, is currently Ambassador of the United States to the Russian Federation.
Biography
Beyrle was born on February 11, 1954 in Muskegon, MichiganMuskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
. His father, Joseph Beyrle
Joseph Beyrle
Joseph R. Beyrle is thought to be the only American soldier to have served with both the United States Army and the Soviet Army in World War II. Born in Muskegon, Michigan, Beyrle graduated from high school in 1942 with the promise of a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, but enlisted in...
, was a decorated World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran, who was the only soldier in World War II to serve with both the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
. He received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University is a public liberal arts university located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1960, and its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids...
, and a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree from the National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...
. Beyrle completed additional language study in Russian at Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
. He spent the spring semester of 1976 on an exchange program at Leningrad State University.
Following graduation from the university, he served as a Russian-speaking exhibit guide at several of the major exhibits held in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
under a program of exchanges organized by the United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
.
He joined the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
in 1983, served his first tour as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(1983–1985), and later was Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow (2003–2005). His other overseas assignments included political officer in Bulgaria (1985–1987), Counselor for political and economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
; and member of the U.S. delegation to the Conventional Forces in Europe negotiations in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
His Washington assignments included Acting Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States; Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
(1993–1995); staff officer to Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
; and foreign policy adviser to U.S. Senator Paul Simon
Paul Simon (politician)
Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
.
Ambassador to Bulgaria (2005-2008)
Bulgarian-American relations
Bulgarian-American relations, first formally established in 1903, have moved from missionary activity and American support for Bulgarian independence in the late 19th century to the growth of trade and commerce in the early 20th century, to reluctant hostility during World War I and open war and...
). He also oversaw the end of U.S. assistance to Bulgaria from the United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID), and made several public speeches urging the Bulgarian Government to step up its fight against organized crime and corruption. In 2007 he made a joint tour of several American cities with Bulgarian Ambassador to the United States Elena Poptodorova, to encourage more American businesses to invest in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian press was generally very favorable toward Ambassador Beyrle, due in large part to his ability to speak and give interviews in Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
. The daily newspaper Standart commented: "for the first time he explained in fluent Bulgarian why the United States is concerned about organized crime and corruption in Bulgaria."
Before Beyrle left Bulgaria, President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov is a President of Bulgaria, whose second and last mandate expires on January 22, 2012; he was elected after defeating his predecessor Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the presidential elections in November 2001 and he came into office on January 22, 2002...
presented him with the Stara Planina Medal, the highest award of the Bulgarian Government, for his contributions to Bulgarian-American relations
Bulgarian-American relations
Bulgarian-American relations, first formally established in 1903, have moved from missionary activity and American support for Bulgarian independence in the late 19th century to the growth of trade and commerce in the early 20th century, to reluctant hostility during World War I and open war and...
.
Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2008-)
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on May 13, 2008 to be the United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 27. He arrived in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to present his credentials on July 3, 2008.
Ambassador Beyrle arrived in Moscow on July 3, 2008 and attended the Fourth of July reception at Spaso House
Spaso House
Spaso House is a listed Neoclassical Revival building at No. 10 Spasopeskovskaya Square in Moscow. It was originally built in 1913 as the mansion of the textile industrialist Nikolay Vtorov. Since 1933 it has been the residence of the U.S...
, then returned to the United States for consultations. He returned to Moscow in August 2008, shortly after the brief 2008 South Ossetia War
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
, and immediately began meetings with the Russian government. On September 11 in an interview on the Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy he noted that the United States had warned the Georgian government not to respond to provocations and not to send troops into South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
, and he criticized the Russian actions in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, particularly the rapid recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
.
He also stated: "The most important step is simply to keep the channels of dialogue open. We are ready to do that, and we see that the Russian side is ready to do that, because there will always be times when our world views don’t agree. But it’s at particularly those difficult moments when we don’t agree that we need to carry on a dialogue; when it’s necessary to talk, to listen well and to hear the meaning of the other side, because without that the possibilities of misunderstanding are very dangerous.".
He formally presented his credentials to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
at the Kremlin on September 18, 2008.
Beyrle and the "Reset" of the Russian-American Relationship
After the election of President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in November 2008, Beyrle, because of his Russian expertise, was asked by President Obama to remain at his post in Moscow. He took an active part in the Obama administration's efforts to "reset" the Russian-American relationship and gave interviews in Russian about the new administration's Russia policy on radio station Ekho Moskvy, and the Russian TV channels First Canal and Vesti-24. He participated in the meeting of President Obama with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in July 2009 and the meetings of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Medvedev on October 13. He gave speeches in Russian to explain America's desire for better relations with Russia to university student audiences in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy-Novgorod and Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
.
On U.S. Veteran's Day in 2009, Ambassador Beyrle invited a large number of Russian World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veterans to his residence, Spaso House, to highlight the wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He presided over the return to Russia of a medallion belonging to Czar Nicholas II, which had been stolen from the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
in the 1990s and recovered by a joint operation of the Russian Ministry of Culture and Russian Prosecutor's office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He took part in the second visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Moscow in March 2010, when Clinton met with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
and discussed arms control
Arms control
Arms control is an umbrella term for restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction...
, sanctions against Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and other political and economic issues where the United States wished to obtain Russian support.
Beyrle was the first American Ambassador to Russia to use his own blog, in Russian, to speak directly to the Russian internet audience. On March 30, the day after the bombing in the Moscow Metro
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
which killed thirty nine people, Beyrle laid flowers at the site of the bombing and used his blog to express his reaction: "I am here to express my personal sympathy to the families of the victims of this terrible terrorist act, I want to express the solidarity of the American People with the Russian people in the fight against extremism and terrorism, We must work together so this kind of horrible crime will never happen again."
On October 29, 2010, Ambassador Beyrle celebrated the connections between American and Russian literature and culture by hosting an Enchanted Ball at Spaso House
Spaso House
Spaso House is a listed Neoclassical Revival building at No. 10 Spasopeskovskaya Square in Moscow. It was originally built in 1913 as the mansion of the textile industrialist Nikolay Vtorov. Since 1933 it has been the residence of the U.S...
. The ball recalled the Spring Ball of 1935 held by Ambassador William Bullitt
William Bullitt
William Christian Bullitt, Jr. was an American diplomat, journalist, and novelist. Although in his youth he was considered something of a radical, he later became an outspoken anticommunist.-Early years:...
, when the house was decorated with live birds, a birch forest, and a real bear. One of the guests at the 1935 ball was writer Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhaíl Afanásyevich Bulgákov was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita, which The Times of London has called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century.-Biography:Mikhail Bulgakov was born on...
, who used elements of that ball as an inspiration for Woland's Ball in his novel Master and Margarita. Guests at the 2010 ball included theater director Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov is a Soviet and Russian actor and the artistic director of the Moscow Art Theatre.-Theatre career:...
, writer Victor Erofeev and sculptors Zurab Tsereteli
Zurab Tsereteli
Zurab Konstantines dze Tsereteli is a Georgian-Russian painter, sculptor and architect who holds the office of President of the Russian Academy of Arts.- Life :...
and Alexander Bourganov
Alexander Bourganov
Alexander Bourganov is a Russian sculptor, a National Artist of Russia, and a member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts. His recent works include a monument to Alexander Pushkin located at George Washington University in Washington DC ; a statue of John Quincy Adams, the first U.S...
.
Crisis and Agreement on Russian Adoptions
A crisis over adoptions of Russian children by American families broke out in April, 2009, when an American mother, Torry Ann Hansen, put her adopted seven-year-old Russian child, Artyom Savelyev, onto an airplane unaccompanied and sent him back to Moscow, with a note claiming that he was "violent and has severe psychopathic issues" and that she "was lied to and misled by the Russian orphanage workers" about his troubles. Hansen arranged for the airline to supervise him on the flight, and to be picked up at the airport.President Medvedev denounced the act as "monstrous" and the Russian press reacted with fury, calling for the end of to adoptions of Russian children by Americans. Ambassador Beyrle held a sidewalk press conference before the Russian media, and said he was "shocked... and very angry that any family would act so callously toward a child that they had legally adopted." Russia was the third leading source of adoptive children in the United States in 2009, with 1,586 Russian children adopted by American families. The result of the crisis was the negotiation of a new agreement between the United States and Russia calling for closer monitoring of adopted Russian children in the United States. The agreement was signed in 2011.
WikiLeaks and Opinions expressed in leaked diplomatic cables
Ambassador Beyrle was among the many diplomats whose candid assessments were made public via classified diplomatic cables posted by WikiLeaks in December 2010, On December 1, the New York Times released a group of cables dating from 2009 and earlier signed by Beyrle and his predecessors, and commented: "scores of secret American cables from recent years, obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to several news organizations, show that beneath the public efforts at warmer ties, the United States harbors a dim view of the post-Soviet Kremlin and its leadership, and little hope that Russia will become more democratic or reliable. The cables portray Mr. Putin as enjoying supremacy over all other Russian public figures, yet undermined by the very nature of the post-Soviet country he helped build. Even a man with his formidable will and intellect is shown beholden to intractable larger forces, including an inefficient economy and an unmanageable bureaucracy that often ignores his edicts".Beyrle condemned the leaks of classified cables in his blog and in interviews, but noted in an interview with the Moscow Times on December 7th that "We have been heartened by the official reaction we've heard from our Russian colleagues. I think Foreign Minister [Sergei] Lavrov said it best: 'Form conclusions based on actions, not based on words...."If you look at the results that we've accomplished over the last two years in U.S.-Russian relations, they are quite significant and quite positive.".
In his blog on December 3, 2010, Beyrle said: " I see that our partners around the world have taken a balanced approach to this hullabaloo. Therefore, I can safely say that the relationships we have succeeded in strengthening over the past two years with our partners and allies around the world have withstood this minor trial with dignity."
Improvements in Russian-American Relations during the Ambassadorship of John Beyrle
During the tour of Ambassador Beyrle in Moscow, there was a notable improvement in the tone of Russian-American relations. The United States and Russia signed the START-2 agreement on the reduction of nuclear weapons, as well as agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and an agreement reducing visa restrictions and providing better monitoring of adoptions. Russia permitted the United States to supply its armed forces in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
using Russian airspace. Russian law enforcement agencies began cooperating more regularly with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. The U.S. military carried out several joint military exercises with the Russian military, and U.S. aircraft took part in the Moscow air show. For the first time U.S. soldiers participated in the parade on Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
marking the anniversary of the end of World War Two. Though serious differences remained over missile defense
Missile defense
Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception and destruction of attacking missiles. Originally conceived as a defence against nuclear-armed Intercontinental ballistic missiles , its application has broadened to include shorter-ranged...
, the occupation of Georgian territory and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, the political relationship was less confrontational than it had been in previous years.
External links
- Official biography (United States Department of State)
- Speeches and interviews of Ambassador Beyrle, in English (2008-2009)
- Speeches and interviews of Ambassador Beyrle, in Russian (2008-2009)
- Ambassador Beyrle talks about the Georgia crisis on St. Petersburg television on August 25, 2008 (in Russian with English subtitles)
- Official blog of John Beyrle in Russian
- US Ambassador has unique perspective on Victory Day By Nora FitzGerald and Artem Zagorodnov, May, 8010
- Watch video of Ambassador Beyrle's Enchanted Ball at Spaso House, October 29, 2010