By Sana Noor Haq

(CNN) — Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, died in Moscow aged 66, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Darchiev “passed away suddenly,” the ministry said in a statement, describing him as an “exceptional professional.” He had been struggling with a chronic illness, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova.

“Alexander Darchiev served in one of the most demanding areas of Russian foreign policy,” the ministry’s statement added. “We extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Alexander Darchiev’s family and loved ones.”

Darchiev, a veteran diplomat known for his stinging condemnations of the West, had served as ambassador to Washington since March 2025. His time in office was marked by a thawing of US-Russia relations as President Donald Trump opened bilateral talks with Moscow and scaled back aid to Ukraine.

Darchiev previously headed the Russian Foreign Ministry’s North Atlantic Department in Washington, according to the Russian embassy in the US, as well as serving as Russia’s ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2021.

Nearly a decade ago another Russian diplomat died suddenly aged 64. Vitaly Churkin, an ambassador to the UN, passed away following cardiac arrest in 2017, just one day before his 65th birthday.

The average life expectancy for a man in Russia is 68 years old, according to the World Bank.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.