The US Senate on Thursday&nbsp;confirmed&nbsp;businessman, a veteran diplomat and former presidential candidate Jon&nbsp;Huntsman&nbsp;as&nbsp;ambassador&nbsp;to&nbsp;Russia, filling a crucial post as a probe of Moscow&#39;s influence on the American election widens.

The 57-year-old&nbsp;Huntsman, who served as governor of Utah, has worked in numerous US administrations, notably as&nbsp;ambassador&nbsp;to China under Democrat Barack Obama, before running unsuccessfully for president as a Republican in 2012.

Huntsman, who was&nbsp;confirmed&nbsp;by voice vote, said during his confirmation hearing that there is &quot;no question&quot;&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;interfered in the US presidential race and that Moscow continues to &quot;threaten stability&quot; in Europe.

Jon Huntsman, who served as governor of Utah, has worked in numerous US administrations

The US Senate on Thursday confirmed businessman, a veteran diplomat and former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman as ambassador to Russia, filling a crucial post as a probe of Moscow's influence on the American election widens. The 57-year-old Huntsman, who served as governor of Utah, has worked in numerous US administrations, notably as ambassador to China under Democrat Barack Obama, before running unsuccessfully for president as a Republican in 2012. Huntsman, who was confirmed by voice vote, said during his confirmation hearing that there is "no question" Russia interfered in the US presidential race and that Moscow continues to "threaten stability" in Europe.

Jon Huntsman confirmed as US ambassador to Russia

US President Donald Trump will nominate Jon Huntsman, an envoy to China under former Democratic President Barack Obama, as US ambassador to Russia, the White House said on Tuesday.

The job, all the more high-profile because of allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, requires confirmation by the US Senate.

If confirmed, Huntsman, who has long been expected to be Trump&#39;s pick for the job, will head to Moscow as the US Congress and a special counsel investigate Russia&#39;s role in the 2016 presidential election and allegations that Trump&#39;s campaign had ties to Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the interference, and Trump has said there was no collusion with Moscow.

Huntsman, a former Utah governor, was US ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011. He has served in the administrations of five US presidents and was a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russia.

The Republican president met with Putin in Germany at the gathering of G-20 leaders there earlier this month and officials said he raised the issue of Russian meddling in the election before moving on to other issues such as the war in Syria.

Reports in March that Huntsman would get the Moscow envoy post were greeted with mixed reviews in Moscow, with one politician saying he was &quot;not a dove&quot; and the Kremlin saying it would welcome anyone who was a &quot;convinced proponent&quot; of establishing a dialogue with Russia.

 
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The job, all the more high-profile because of allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, requires confirmation by the US Senate

US President Donald Trump will nominate Jon Huntsman, an envoy to China under former Democratic President Barack Obama, as US ambassador to Russia, the White House said on Tuesday. The job, all the more high-profile because of allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, requires confirmation by the US Senate. If confirmed, Huntsman, who has long been expected to be Trump's pick for the job, will head to Moscow as the US Congress and a special counsel investigate Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and allegations that Trump's campaign had ties to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the interference, and Trump has said there was no collusion with Moscow. Huntsman, a former Utah governor, was US ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011. He has served in the administrations of five US presidents and was a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russia. The Republican president met with Putin in Germany at the gathering of G-20 leaders there earlier this month and officials said he raised the issue of Russian meddling in the election before moving on to other issues such as the war in Syria. Reports in March that Huntsman would get the Moscow envoy post were greeted with mixed reviews in Moscow, with one politician saying he was "not a dove" and the Kremlin saying it would welcome anyone who was a "convinced proponent" of establishing a dialogue with Russia.

Trump to nominate former China envoy as Russia ambassador: White House

Former Utah Republican Governor Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump&#39;s offer to be ambassador to Russia, an administration official said on Wednesday.

Huntsman served as ambassador to China under Democratic President Barack Obama before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

The job, which requires Senate confirmation, would put Huntsman in Moscow at a time when US-Russian ties are very much in the spotlight.

The tensions peaked in December when Obama expelled 35 Russian suspected spies after US&nbsp;intelligence agencies concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump&#39;s favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations.

Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which deteriorated under Obama over issues including Russia&#39;s annexation of Ukraine&#39;s Crimea and the two countries&#39; backing of opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.

President Trump is being officially <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-russia-investigation-cia-intelligence-235774" target="_blank">investigated </a>by&nbsp;US intelligence agencies over his ties to Russia&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

This comes after Democrats expelled 35 Russian suspected spies amid US intelligence's claim that Russia interfered with the 2016 US election

Former Utah Republican Governor Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump's offer to be ambassador to Russia, an administration official said on Wednesday. Huntsman served as ambassador to China under Democratic President Barack Obama before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The job, which requires Senate confirmation, would put Huntsman in Moscow at a time when US-Russian ties are very much in the spotlight. The tensions peaked in December when Obama expelled 35 Russian suspected spies after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump's favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations. Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which deteriorated under Obama over issues including Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and the two countries' backing of opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. President Trump is being officially investigated by US intelligence agencies over his ties to Russia (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Ex-Utah Governor Huntsman accepts Trump offer to be ambassador to Russia: Official

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Jon Huntsman confirmed as US ambassador to Russia

Trump to nominate former China envoy as Russia ambassador: White House

Ex-Utah Governor Huntsman accepts Trump offer to be ambassador to Russia: Official