Translated material
Husband to help the British Ambassador
Ann Pringle is already in Russia
The new British ambassador to Russia, as Vremya Novostei was told by the British Foreign Office, will officially take up his duties in October. However, from sources close to the Foreign Office, we learned that 53-year-old Anne Pringle, who will replace the current ambassador, 58-year-old Anthony Brenton, at the post in Moscow, is already in Russia. They explained to us that “this is an internship.” Ms Pringle (pictured) visits British diplomatic missions in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, reacquainting herself with the country where she once worked and her future employees.Ann Pringle worked in Moscow for almost three years in the early 1980s. Her foreign diplomatic career began with a business trip to the Soviet Union 28 years ago. But then the young diplomat saw a completely different Moscow of the stagnant period, on the streets of which there were no traffic jams, no foreign cars, and the shops contained only Soviet consumer goods. Although the third secretary of the British Embassy probably also remembered more vivid events: the Moscow Olympics, the performances of the Taganka Theater, the death of Vysotsky, and later the ritual funerals of Soviet leaders that were repeated with regular inevitability.
Then Ann Pringle worked in the USA and Europe. In 1998, she returned to Eastern European topics, heading the corresponding department of the Foreign Office. In 2001-2004, she was ambassador to the Czech Republic, and in recent years she was a member of the board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and headed the department of strategy and information.
Little is known about the new British after. The Vremya Novostei correspondent was unable to find a single interview with her or even quotes from her statements in London newspapers. But I came across an official message about the awarding of the Order of Saints Michael and George to Ms. Pringle, which is awarded for services in the diplomatic field.
Colleagues say that Mrs. Pringle is a serious and thoughtful diplomat, distinguished by her independence of judgment and strong character. As one London journalist who knows her put it, "Pringle is a generalist - she knows how to handle things in times of tension as well as when relationships are thriving." In London they hope that Anne Pringle will have better luck in Moscow than the current ambassador, Sir Anthony Brenton, who experienced the worst period in Russian-British relations since the Cold War.
Despite the political cooling, Russia and Great Britain are actively developing economic ties. There is no clear answer yet to the question of how the new ambassador understands business. Although there is an interesting detail in Pringle's personal file that can be interpreted as a clue. Her husband Bleddyn Phillips is one of the partners of the world's largest legal and consulting company, Clifford Chance, and the head of its oil and gas division. The other day it was announced that Mr. Phillips was going to Moscow after his wife. He will head the Russian branch of Clifford Chance, whose clients include many well-known companies in the oil and gas industry. According to London journalists, his wife's official position will likely provide Phillips with a quick business start in Russia. But the ambassador will not lose out either - she will be provided with an excellent consultant on energy issues.