Lynne Tracy, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, will conclude her service in Moscow after two and a half years, as announced by the embassy on Friday.

Tracy, a seasoned diplomat, took on the role of ambassador in January 2023 during the Biden administration. She has previously held positions in various former Soviet states, including Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“As I depart from Russia, I am confident that my colleagues at the embassy will continue to strive to enhance our relations and foster connections with the Russian people,” stated Tracy in a message shared on the U.S. Embassy’s Telegram channel on Friday.

She expressed that she was moved by her encounters with Russians who are passionate about their country and actively work towards a brighter future.

To conclude her farewell note, she quoted a line from Alexander Pushkin’s poem “To Chaadayev”:

“While freedom inspires us, my friend,
While honor beckons and we heed its call,
Come: let us care for our nation’s land,
Embracing the noble yearnings of the spirit.”

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow, which first reported on Tracy’s impending exit earlier this month, has not disclosed who President Donald Trump will appoint as her successor.

The embassy did not respond to a request for comment from The Moscow Times.

Since assuming office in January, Trump has begun replacing many ambassadors who were appointed by his predecessor, Joe Biden. In May, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, who resigned in April, mentioned that her departure was due to disagreements with Trump’s foreign policy.

Tracy’s exit occurs just months after Russia’s new ambassador to the U.S., Alexander Darchiyev, took up his position. His predecessor, Anatoly Antonov, stepped down and returned to Moscow in October of the previous year.

In recent months, the Trump administration has taken steps to improve relations with Russia, which had plummeted dramatically due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Darchiyev noted that in a recent meeting with Trump, he informed the U.S. president that the Russian Embassy in Washington would “do everything possible to restore Russian-American relations to a state of normalcy and reason.”

However, the pace and scope of any potential rapprochement remain unclear. On Wednesday, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov mentioned that the Trump administration does not seem prepared to fully normalize diplomatic relations, pointing to stalled discussions over embassy-related issues.

Russia is advocating for the return of six diplomatic properties in the U.S. that were confiscated between 2016 and 2018 in response to allegations of election interference. They are also seeking “clearer answers” regarding their proposal to resume direct flights between Russia and the United States.

According to the Kremlin, U.S. officials have made the resumption of direct flights conditional on advancements towards a ceasefire in Ukraine.