New US Ambassador

William Burns is set to become the new US Ambassador to Russia, according to Interfax. 

There have been reports that William Burns would be the next Ambassador to Russia since early this year, but I wonder if the Interfax report means that his appointment is close to confirmation?

A career diplomat, Burns has had worked at US embassies througout the world, including the Moscow embassy.  He gained ambassadorial experience in Jordan, has been the US representative at NATO, and is currently the Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs.  His most notable diplomatic achievement to date seems to have been his role in brokering the deal in which Libya agreed to surrender their weapons of mass destruction.

Here’s his (slightly out of date) State Dept bio.