8 ms·
What happens when ambassadors are summoned by the host country?
- whynotminot 1y agoI always enjoy reading about the theater of international diplomacy. In many ways — humorous and depressing — it’s not that different than the school yard.
- rossant 1y agoZelensky in the oval office last February certainly reminded me the school yard.
- wredcoll 1y agoWas that the one where the reporters weren't allowed to criticize trump so they talked about zelensky's clothes instead.
- myvoiceismypass 1y agoI believe the vice president did not think Zelensky gave enough thank-yous too at this meeting.
- 0xDEAFBEAD 1y agoI saw this interesting Youtube video from an anti-Putin Russian liberal which analyzes the Oval Office video leading up to the clip that went viral. He actually ends up blaming Zelensky for repeated violations of diplomatic protocol which lead to the famous clash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWzmk_0xzCA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWzmk_0xzCA Ultimately my takeaway is that diplomatic protocol can seem stuffy, but it exists for a very good reason. Tiptoeing around everyone's ego might seem excessive, but it's way cheaper than e.g. fighting a needless war. Hard to blame Zelensky for not knowing protocol when he was a comedian elected as an outsider candidate, of course.
- tguvot 1y agoHard to blame Trump for not knowing protocol when he was a comedian elected as an outsider candidate, of course.
- GJim 1y agoPlease stop spouting Russian propaganda. Consider Zelensky's correct outfit when meeting royalty (green fatigues). https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/uk-politics/ukraines-zelensky-asks-allies-for-fighter-jets-on-uk-visit/news-story/d2d74b475149284448aa31249b6ea513 https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/uk-politics/ukraines-ze... King Charles was honoured.
- 0xDEAFBEAD 1y agoDid you watch the video? It's not really about his outfit.
- chasil 1y ago"(The U.S. ambassador to Switzerland virtually never gets summoned.)" After the new 50% tariffs, I doubt this remains true.
- Scoundreller 1y agoIf they do, we’ll know that Americans have lost interest in Swiss banking.
- satellite2 1y agoOr that Washington has lost interest in diplomacy
- aspenmayer 1y agoSabers rattlers saber rattle.
- mrangle 1y agoSwiss banking hasn't been legally feasible for Americans since the GWB era, famously and if memory serves. I'm pretty sure that it isn't offered to Americans.
- pbiggar 1y agoInteresting the story that led to this question. France has said that it will recognize Palestine, and so the US ambassador wrote a letter falsely accusing the French of antisemitism for recognizing Palestine.
- Simon_O_Rourke 1y agoIt's absurdist whataboutery from Kushner, and no doubt the Israeli foreign ministry pulling the strings. One does not equate to the other. What it does do however is undermine current Israeli domestic policy, which can be neatly summed up as keeping their PM out of prison by focusing on the external enemy.
- fortzi 1y agoI believe you’re giving the worst Israeli government of all times too much credit, as if it’s able to “pull the strings” in Washington
- hearsathought 1y agoIt gets even weirder than that. Kushner isn't a semite. European settlers calling themselves "israelis" aren't semites. Palestinians/arabs are actual semites. So the non-semitic peoples butchering semites are accusing people trying to protect semites ( palestinians ) of being antisemitic. Once you learn what a semite is and who these "israeli" settlers are, you realize how silly everything is.
- tguvot 1y agotrial of israeli pm is ongoing.
- yrcyrc 1y agoVirtue signalling, hand wrangling and mostly jostling in international affairs. Nothing of consequence. Just daily business
- A_Duck 1y agoJaw, jaw is better than war, war This theatre is the way countries can negotiate and communicate peacefully
- marcosdumay 1y agoEarlier this year, the US recalled their ambassador in Brazil and asked permission for the local government to nearly double the embassy's building size on the same week. (And kept both actions on the long term.) Try to understand that.
- kergonath 1y agoTo be fair, the reason of a lot of actions by American diplomats these days seems to be "because we can".
- Animats 1y agoNo, the US didn't recall its ambassador to Brazil. The acting US ambassador there was summoned to the foreign ministry of Brazil. The US has some disagreements with Brazil (or, rather, Trump does, because they're putting a former national leader on trial). Here's a view from Rio.[1] Recalling an ambassador to their home country (the traditional phrase is "recalled for consultations with their government") in modern times usually means they're being replaced. [1] https://www.riotimesonline.com/lulas-brazil-at-a-crossroads-how-domestic-strife-and-us-tensions-risk-brazils-global-standing/ https://www.riotimesonline.com/lulas-brazil-at-a-crossroads-...
- averageRoyalty 1y ago> The US has some disagreements with Brazil (or, rather, Trump does, because they're putting a former national leader on trial). That seems an odd clarification. Do you not believe a democratically elected leader represents a country? Every country has people who disagree with their leaders views, however this clarification on every statement would get tiring quickly.
- shermantanktop 1y agoNot all leaders do that equally, wouldn’t you agree? Some leaders stay close to the views of the average voter, whereas others are clearly driven by personal motivations. I don’t think it’s controversial to note that Trump is an extreme of the latter case.
- MichaelZuo 1y agoEven the term itself is pretty misleading, as the answer notes, the vast majority of purported ‘summons’ are not actually made with the threat in writing that they will be punished if they don’t show up. Those real summons are very rare.
- Animats 1y agoIt is a formal statement by one country that they don't like what another country is doing. It can be serious. Worst case, an ambassador is summoned to receive a declaration of war. That's happened many times in the past, especially when travel delays meant wars took a long time to start. That's rare today. This time, it's not that serious. Here's the statement by the foreign ministry of France: [1] France learned of the allegations of the US Ambassador, Mr. Charles Kushner, who, in a letter to the President of the Republic, expressed his concern about the rise in anti-Semitism in France and reported an alleged lack of sufficient action by the French authorities to confront it. France firmly refutes these allegations. The rise in anti-Semitic acts in France since 7 October 2023 is a reality that we deplore and to which the French authorities are fully committed to combating, as such acts are intolerable. The Ambassador’s allegations are unacceptable. They contravene international law, in particular the duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of States as provided for in the 1961 Vienna Convention that governs diplomatic relations. Furthermore, they fall short of the quality of the transatlantic relationship between France and the United States and the trust that should result between allies. Ambassador Kushner will be summoned to the Quai d’Orsay on Monday, 25 August. Charles Kushner (Jared Kushner's dad, Jared Kushner being Trump's son in law, married to Ivanka Trump) and the US embassy sent their chargé d'affaires (a temporary ambassador while the real one is unavailable) instead. That can be read in several ways. Although it's a mild diplomatic insult to send a substitute, the effect is to calm the situation a bit. It helps that the substitute is a professional diplomat, not a political appointee. Le Figaro says the meeting went reasonably well, but that's what's traditionally said unless a declaration of war results. This should go away as an issue unless Trump starts screaming about it on social media. [1] https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/united-states/events/article/united-states-ambassador-s-allegations-of-anti-semitism-in-france-25-august https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/united-state... [2] https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/convocation-de-l-ambassadeur-americain-a-paris-charles-kushner-envoie-son-charge-d-affaires-pour-le-remplacer-20250825?msockid=3f8b9a1d8ff965f92c9d881c8e9664ed https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/convocation-de-l-ambas...
- myvoiceismypass 1y agoForgot it was Kushner - what an evil, shit man! Tax evasion, illegal campaign donations and the cherry on top - tampering with a witness. Said witness was his brother-in-law! Kushner hired a prosttitue to entrap him, filmed it and then showed his sister, how gross!
- Beretta_Vexee 1y agoThere is an element of theatre involved, but it is also a way of sending a very clear signal that the France is not satisfied with the ambassador's behaviour. When everything is going well, meetings between the Foreign Office and ambassadors remain private.The fact that the ambassador did not attend the meeting himself but sent a subordinate is a public affront. What is strange is that the US ambassador's communication is not really intended for the French or French jews, but is merely a sign of support for Israel. There is currently an Israeli media offensive in France followin President Macron's comments on the recognition of a Palestinian state. The Israeli state and its supporters are buying advertising spots on YouTube and Instagram to encourage French Jews to do their ahria with free money. There are regular attempts to exploit anti-Semitic crimes or news stories to claim that France is hell on earth for Jews and that Israel is there to save them. But then again, we haven't yet seen Belgian commandos coming to kidnap people in France or Luxembourgers launching rockets. The only new thing is that the US ambassador is taking part in this type of operation and behaving like an arsehole with the French Foreign Office.
- fortzi 1y ago> we haven't yet seen Belgian commandos coming to kidnap people in France or Luxembourgers launching rockets Not all hate crimes involve rockets. I know a few Jews who grew up in France, and all of them report antisemitic incidents that happened to them personally, some physically violent. I’m talking mid-day paris, not some otherwise sketchy circumstances. They all fear being identified as jews in the streets of Paris.
- fortzi 1y agoEvery French jew that I know has been dealing with direct antisemitism in France, sometimes violent. Your comment seems to downplay that.
- ChrisArchitect 1y agoIf not to represent their country in a foreign country, what do these ppl think the role of Ambassadors is? People haven't watched The West Wing etc and it shows
- andrewinardeer 1y agoAustralia expelled the Iranian ambassador yesterday. Can anyone give an insights as to what happens during this processes? I guess diplomatic relations are severed until an ambassador returns to the host country.
- rwmj 1y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_non_grata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_non_grata is relevant.
- Animats 1y agoIt's gone further now. Australia just severed diplomatic relations with Iran.[1] [1] https://apnews.com/article/australia-iran-antisemitism-attacks-fad2dc76125807a643bfe14cae33d2c8 https://apnews.com/article/australia-iran-antisemitism-attac...
- dragonwriter 1y agoIn principle, no, declaring the ambassador persona non grata only directly means that that particular official is no longer welcome and recognized, the state which they represented to that moment may continue to be represented on an interim basis without meaningful interruption (usually through designation of the existing deputy chief of mission as chargé d'affaires) unless the host nation also ordered the closure of the mission or formally severed diplomatic relations. The nation whose ambassador was expelled may choose to downgrade relations formally, even if the other side has not, as its own protest, of course. On the other hand, expelling an ambassador is a rare event and usually one piece of a fairly extreme diplomatic protest that involves other elements, either simultaneously or in close temporal proximity (fully cutting off relations or even declaring war would not be that unusual as accompanying actions.)
- pbiggar 1y agoI just watched something about this (I don't know the channel so I'm unclear on the accuracy here) - see the second half of the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT_0IxVKGsQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT_0IxVKGsQ Summary: Netanyahu threatened Australian Prime Minister Albanese, and Albanese capitulated quickly.
- rwmj 1y agoThese formal diplomatic notes are .. what? A piece of headed notepaper? An email? Some XML message validated with a schema?
- Animats 1y agoPDF of the message on a diplomatic letterhead. 8.5x 11", 15 point type, 1 inch margins, seal of the State Department at the top of the first page.[1] The style is formal, but very plain and clear English. Wars have started because of badly drafted or mishandled diplomatic notes. The Japanese diplomatic note announcing war was supposed to be delivered just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The communications between the US and Saddam Hussein before the Kuwait war left Hussein with the incorrect impression that the US would not intervene if he invaded Kuwait. [1] https://fam.state.gov/FAM/05FAH01/05FAH010610.html https://fam.state.gov/FAM/05FAH01/05FAH010610.html
- aspenmayer 1y agoMore info on preparing these notes here: https://fam.state.gov/fam/05fah01/05fah010620.html https://fam.state.gov/fam/05fah01/05fah010620.html
- aspenmayer 1y agoI’m not sure in these specific cases, but they are frequently referred to as “diplomatic cables.” I don’t have much insight into how they are sent, delivered, or received, but they likely have formal agreements with host nations that specify how these cables are presented. Due to the sensitive nature of the communications, many of these messages are delivered in person, whether on paper or verbally, one diplomat to another. Electronic means of communicating cables are likely classified. Animats in a sibling comment has the details. See section i: > i. Delivery from the Department to Foreign Embassies in Washington, DC[…] Executive Secretariat InfoLink seems to be doing the electronic heavy lifting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_cable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_cable
- bawolff 1y agoFrom what i understand there is a whole ranking system of different types of diplomatic communications based on how serious it is.
- oaiey 1y agoUS ambassadors are a disgrace right now. They do not behave like guests or communication bridges but actors influencing local politics. But that is not the purpose of the embassy concept. As a world we have to return to normal and respectful behavior instead of bullying everywhere. The US under Trump is just one thing: a bully. With great power comes great responsibility. That is the standard men (and women) are hold accountable.
- jussaying2 1y agoIf anyone's looking for the ongoing theatre of international diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions, Trump just proposed a 38 year-old novice/campaign operative as the US ambassador to the world's most populous nation. https://thewire.in/diplomacy/six-critical-questions-raised-by-trumps-pick-of-sergio-gor-as-india-ambassador https://thewire.in/diplomacy/six-critical-questions-raised-b...
- tracker1 1y agoGiven his upbringing and birthplace he seems to have a pretty diverse background. Likely a good candidate for an ambassador role in general. He doesn't seem to have a specific background regarding India, but other than that most criticism seems to be political bias of reporters/editors.
- specproc 1y agoCan we take a moment to appreciate how much better an answer that top answer was than if we'd typed it into our LLM of choice.
- zvr 1y agoHappening right now: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j9l08902eo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j9l08902eo