Former U.S. Ambassador in Eastern Europe available to comment on Russia sanctions

EVANSTON, Ill. — Ian Kelly, a former State Department spokesperson under former President Barack Obama and ambassador (ret.) in residence at Northwestern University is available to comment on President Joe Biden’s first sanctions on Russia following the poisoning and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Media interested in interviewing Ambassador Kelly should reach out to Mohamed Abdelfattah at mohamed@northwestern.edu.

About Ian Kelly
Kelly is a retired senior foreign service officer who most recently served as the U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 2015 to 2018. Previously he served as the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from 2010 to 2013.

Prior to these ambassadorships, Kelly held a variety of high-level positions at the U.S. State Department, including serving as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s spokesperson (2009-2010). He has extensive experience working on issues relating to NATO, Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Balkans.