Kyiv denies reports that US rejected Umerov's nomination as ambassador

Ukraine has not submitted a request to the United States regarding the appointment of Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov as ambassador to Washington, meaning reports that the US side rejected his candidacy are inaccurate, a Ukrainian diplomatic source said.

"This information does not correspond to reality. The Ukrainian side has not sent any requests to the United States regarding Rustem Umerov's candidacy for the post of Ukraine's ambassador to the US. Since there was no request, there could be no rejection," the source told Interfax-Ukraine, as quoted by Report.

The source explained that the appointment procedure for a head of a diplomatic mission requires sending an agrément request to the host country after a decision has been made to nominate a candidate.

Earlier, Ukrainian media reported that Umerov was among the leading candidates for the position of Ukraine's ambassador to the United States. MP Oleksii Honcharenko claimed that the US State Department had allegedly refused to approve his candidacy, while MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said the issue remained unresolved.