US official believes idea of appointing him as next ambassador to Moscow came from Russia

US official believes idea of appointing him as next ambassador to Moscow came from Russia Chairperson of the US Commission of Fine Arts Rodney Mims Cook Jr. said, that he serve at the pleasure of the President Donald TrumpWASHINGTON, July 18. /TASS/. Head of the US delegation at this year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and chairperson of the US Commission of Fine Arts Rodney Mims Cook Jr. believes the idea of appointing him as the next US ambassador to Moscow originated with the Russian side. "Not for me [to say]. That's not my decision. My understanding was that [it] was coming from a Russian side, not an American side. But I serve at the pleasure of the President (Donald Trump - TASS)," he said in an interview with TASS. "And so the way I've been asked to operate has been beneficial to Russia and Scandinavia," the US official said. Cook Jr. also described himself as the United States' "so-called Minister of Culture," despite there being no such post in the US administration. He serves in leadership roles across several US federal bodies responsible for culture and the arts. "I do what the President (Donald Trump - TASS) wants me to do, when he wants me to do it," he added. The possibility of Cook Jr. becoming the next US ambassador to Russia was recently raised publicly by US producer Stephen Mao, president of Studio Mao, in an interview with TASS in Moscow. Cook Jr. was appointed to the US Commission of Fine Arts near the end of Trump's first presidential term. The commission's membership changed under President Joe Biden, but Cook Jr. was reappointed after Trump returned to the White House. A US delegation attended the 2026 SPIEF for the first time in several years. Cook Jr. has previously visited Russia, lecturing on architecture at the Kremlin Armory, the Yasnaya Polyana and Arkhangelskoye estates, and taking part as an independent expert in the restoration of the Resurrection Cathedral at the New Jerusalem Monastery outside Moscow. 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