Washington, 1 August 1997 (RFE/RL) - The U.S. Senate has approved President Bill Clinton's ambassadors to Belarus, Bosnia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania and Russia.
They were among several dozen presidential appointments approved without debate in the Senate yesterday as members prepared to adjourn for a month-long summer recess.
The nominees approved were: Daniel Speckhard to be ambassador Belarus; Richard Kauzlarich to Bosnia; Anne Sigmund to Kyrgyzstan; Keith Smith to Lithuania and James Collins to Russia. The Senate also approved Marc Grossman to be Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs.
Stephen Sestanovich, who was nominated to succeed Collins as ambassador-at-large to what the State Department collectively refers to as the newly independent states, was one of the few nominees not confirmed. No reason was given for the delay.