Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint news conference with Germany's chancellor following their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Tuesday. That day the Kremlin said it pulled back some Russian troops but the U.S. and NATO have rejected the claim. Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin talks during a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Tuesday. Yuri Kochetkov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A train is ready on the station during the handover ceremony of the high-speed rail project in Vientiane, Laos, connecting the city with Kunming, China, on Dec. 3, 2021. Phoonsab Thevongsa/Reuters hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and President Biden shake hands during their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2021. Russia, the United States and its NATO allies are meeting this week for negotiations focused on Moscow's demand for Western security guarantees and Western concerns about a recent buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool, AP hide caption
Qin Gang fields questions during a news conference around the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program in Beijing in 2005. He served as spokesperson for the Chinese delegation. China Photos/Getty Images hide caption
In this 2011 photo, Joe Biden, then vice president, shakes hands with Vladimir Putin, then Russia's prime minister, in Moscow. President Biden will hold a summit with Putin this week in Geneva, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders that comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP hide caption
A general view of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in 2013. The State Department announced Tuesday "the departure from U.S. Embassy Kabul of U.S. government employees whose functions can be performed elsewhere." Ahmad Nazar/AP hide caption
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks to media in Tokyo this month. Suga will take part in a Friday summit meeting with President Biden, the first foreign leader to meet the president face to face. Eugene Hoshiko, Pool/AP hide caption
Chinese and U.S. table tennis players train together in April 1971 in Beijing. April 10 marks the 50th anniversary of what became known as pingpong diplomacy between the two nations. AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Antony Blinken listens last week during his confirmation hearing to be secretary of state before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Alex Edelman/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
President-elect Joe Biden listens as his secretary of state nominee, Antony Blinken, speaks in Wilmington, Del., in November. Blinken told senators at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, "Humility and confidence should be the flip sides of America's leadership coin." Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
Technicians work inside of a uranium conversion facility producing unit in 2005 outside the city of Isfahan, Iran. After the 2015 Iran nuclear deal put limits on the program, Iran's government has been increasing uranium enrichment since the United States pulled out of deal. Getty Images hide caption
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discusses the counting of votes in the U.S. election last month at the State Department. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko greet a group of World War II veterans in the Russian village of Khoroshevo on June 30. Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP hide caption
The flags of the United Arab Emirates and Israel are raised on the Peace Bridge in Netanya, Israel. The UAE flag was displayed to celebrate last week's announcement that the two countries have agreed to establish diplomatic relations. Ariel Schalit/AP hide caption
President Trump's State Department has sent more political appointees abroad as ambassadors than have previous administrations. Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images hide caption
Tianna Spears joined the State Department in 2018, looking forward to the promise of a fulfilling career. She left after less than two years, and is one of a growing number to speak out recently about the special challenges faced by minority foreign service officers. Kennedi Carter for NPR hide caption
President Trump walks with U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV in London in July 2018. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses a news conference last month in Chelsea, Quebec. David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Demonstrators carry a banner that says, "We are democracy" during a protest against racism last month in Brasilia, Brazil. Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Chinese leader Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with staff members at the control room of China Central Television in Beijing in 2016. Ma Zhancheng/AP hide caption
Newly elected prime minister Avdullah Hoti (center) walks out of the parliament building in the capital Pristina, on Wednesday. Visar Kryeziu/AP hide caption
Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council pose for photographers following their summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2019. Amr Nabil/AP hide caption
Ukrainian border guards wear protective face masks at a checkpoint with the territories controlled by Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region. Evgeniya Maksymova/AFP via Getty Images hide caption