Russia is recalling Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the man who has emerged as a focal point in the FBI probe into Russia’s election meddling, U.S. media reported Sunday.
BuzzFeed cited three sources as saying that Russia is calling Kislyak back home.
The Kremlin did not confirm when Kislyak would head back to Russia, but the U.S.-Russia Business Council on July 11 will have a going away party for Kislyak at the St. Regis Hotel, the report said.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner have come under scrutiny in recent months over undisclosed meetings or contacts they each had with Kislyak.
Reports in the media suggested that Sessions' meeting with Kislyak might have occurred at a Russia-friendly foreign policy speech given by then-candidate Trump at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington in 2016.
Sessions, who recused himself from the Justice Department’s investigations into Russia’s meddling in the presidential race, has denied reports of an unreported meeting with Kislyak.
Trump asked for Flynn’s resignation in February, after it was revealed that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak.
The FBI is investigating whether the ambassador's meetings were part of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian agents seeking to influence the 2016 election.