Video: Secretary Clinton Swears-In Ambassador-Designate McFaul
Swearing-In Ceremony for Ambassador-designate to Russia Mike McFaul
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
January 10, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, thank you, and welcome to the eighth floor of the State
Department, the Ben Franklin Room, to this auspicious occasion, of
swearing-in of Mike McFaul as our next ambassador to Russia. This is
quite a turnout, Mike. I don’t know whether it’s because people are glad
to see you go – (laughter) – or because they understand, as I do, what a
momentous appointment this is for our country and for the Russian
Federation. There could hardly be a better time for you to serve in this
position, and we are thrilled to be able to make it official today.
Now, Ambassador Marshall listed some of the members of the McFaul
clan who are here with us. It is a big group and it is one that
demonstrates the strong family support that Mike has for his public
service. I particularly want to thank his wife Donna and his sons Cole
and Luke, who will be traveling with him to Moscow, and have the
experience of representing our country there. (Applause.)
This is a good day for us all – for the United States, which is
sending an absolutely top-notch emissary to Moscow, for our partners in
Russia. And Ambassador, we’re delighted that you are here because we
know that this appointment represents the kind of deeper cooperation and
closer ties that President Obama stands for. And for Mike and his
family, it will be an adventure.
This Administration has placed a particular emphasis on working
together with Russia, one of the most complex and consequential
relationships we have with any nation in the world. We have worked
closely together on a range of critical issues, from nuclear
nonproliferation to combating terrorism and drug trafficking to
addressing the effects of climate change. Russia – as a permanent member
of the UN Security Council, a member of the G-8 and the G-20, the
Quartet on Middle East peace, the P-5+1 talks on Iran, the Six-Party
Talks on North Korea and so on – is intimately involved with some of our
most important diplomatic challenges. And our ability to work well with
our Russian partners is absolutely critical to the kind of world that
we want to see for Cole and Luke and for Russian and American children
alike. And that’s why having a strong ambassador in Moscow is so
important.
Now Mike is no stranger to Russia. He’s been building his expertise
for more than a quarter century, starting when he was a university
student living in what was then known as Leningrad, later as a
representative of the National Democratic Institute in Moscow. He became
a well-known scholar of Russia. His course on Russian politics was
voted by students as one of the 10 best classes at Stanford University.
Now when President Obama convinced Mike to temporarily leave Palo
Alto to serve as senior director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the
National Security Council, he became one of the leading architects of
what has been called the reset. Together with our Russian partners, we
have worked to revamp our relationship to make it more effective and
better suited for today’s world. We wanted to put to rest outdated
practices and views of each other. We wanted to cooperate whenever and
wherever possible to engage more rigorously and broadly, both with the
Russian Government and the Russian people.
And I think it’s fair to say we have a lot to show for that effort.
The New START Treaty, the most comprehensive arms control agreement in
nearly two decades, was ratified and entered into force. The Plutonium
Management and Disposition Agreement, which will transparently dispose
of the equivalent of 17,000 nuclear weapons’ worth of plutonium. The
1-2-3 Agreement for Civil Nuclear Cooperation entered into force to
support long-term U.S.-Russia civil nuclear cooperation. Commercial
opportunities for U.S. business in Russia enhanced cooperation on
important global nonproliferation goals.
Our countries became closer partners in expanding supply routes into
Afghanistan. More than 1,700 flights and more than 277,000 military
personnel have transited these routes, while Russia’s ground transit
agreement with NATO has resulted in the shipment of more than 37,000
containers of supplies to NATO ISAF troops in Afghanistan.
The United States, with Mike’s strong leadership, supported Russia’s
accession to the World Trade Organization, which will deepen its
investment in the success of the global economy and in the rules of
free, open, transparent and fair competition that we believe will create
greater wealth for everyone.
We have worked together to prevent Iran and North Korea from
acquiring nuclear weapons and to begin a new era for the people of
Libya. We signed agreements on adoptions to build trust and transparency
as well as on visas to make it easier for businesspeople as well as
tourists to travel between our two countries.
So we’ve made new agreements, we have forged new partnerships, we’ve
hit new benchmarks, we have built new ties. And Mike has been at the
heart of all that work. And whenever his team hit a roadblock, he’d say,
“I love this. I may be only a simple professor, but it seems to me this
is a problem we can solve.”
Now of course, as you know, Mike is not only a Russia expert; he’s
also one of our nation’s leading thinkers and writers on democracy. And
the coming months and years will be crucial for Russian democracy.
Russians from all walks of life and every corner of this great country
are making their voices heard, both face to face and in cyberspace,
expressing their hopes for the future. Few Americans know Russia or know
democracy better than Mike McFaul. And I can think of no better
representative of our values and our interest in a strong, politically
vibrant, open, democratic Russia, as well as a deepening U.S.-Russian
partnership.
Now, Mike’s reputation precedes him. As you may know, typically when
the United States selects an ambassador, we let the host country know
through what’s called a formal diplomatic note. But in Mike’s case, it
went a little differently. When President Obama saw President Medvedev
at the G-8 summit in Deauville in May, he simply said, “I’m planning to
nominate Mike to be the next ambassador to Russia.” And President
Medvedev responded immediately with a tone full of respect, “Of course.
He’s a tough negotiator.” (Laughter.) And that was that.
Now really, the only downside to this appointment is that those of us
here in Washington who have had the opportunity to work with Mike will
miss him. And he is, as the President calls him on a regular basis,
McFaul. We look forward to hearing about McFaul’s stories of pickup
basketball games at Spaso House. Donna has continued advocacy on issues
close to her and my heart – families, women, and children. And I’m even
told there may be a few rock and roll sessions when Mike’s band mates
from The Pigs – (laughter) – visit Moscow. And it’s not an agricultural
issue, Ambassador. (Laughter.) I don’t think they’ll need to be
quarantined with their instruments.
But it’s been a pleasure to work with him. And now, it is my honor to
swear in President Obama’s choice and, by acclamation, the choice of
all of us for our next ambassador. And if you will stand here with me
and raise your right hand and repeat after me.
