The U.S. ambassador to Russia has announced that he is stepping... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Wednesday, May 15, 2013 file photo the U.S. Ambassador Michael A. McFaul, who spearheaded a “reset” in relations between Russia and the United States as a senior adviser to President Obama during the president’s first term, often served as a lightning rod for criticism from Russian officials who accused the State Department of funding opposition politicians and interfering in the country’s internal affairs. Mr. McFaul, who noted in a post on Twitter that his wife and two sons left Russia for California last summer to arrive in time for the new school year, reiterated a desire to reunite with his family. “But after seven months of separation, I simply need to be with my family again.” 
 
 McFaul never wavered in his defense of the “reset” despite the increasingly rocky trail of U.S.-Russian relations in recent years. But his tenure also has brought disappointments in the face of the rising anti-Americanism in Russia that accompanied Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency. Benjamin J. Rhodes, the director for strategic communications at the National Security Council, said in a statement that Mr. Obama was “deeply grateful” for Mr. McFaul’s tenure as an adviser and ambassador, highlighting the New Start treaty and Mr. McFaul’s engagement with civil society.
– By the end of the month, the Obama administration will have lost its top diplomats in two of its most important posts. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford and Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul both announced their impending resignations today, the AP reports. Here's what you should know about each: Ford Ford is retiring by the end of the month, the State Department confirmed. Ford has been instrumental in the administration's oft-troubled negotiations in Syria, and in attempting to unite its disparate rebel groups. A career diplomat and fluent speaker of Arabic, he was expected to land the Egypt gig, but sources tell the Washington Post that Egypt's rulers have taken the unusual step of nixing that idea. "Robert Ford has not been nominated for a new position. Beyond that, we don't have any comment," a National Security Council spokeswoman said. McFaul McFaul is widely credited as the man behind the effort to "reset" US-Russian relations, and helped design the New Start treaty, the New York Times reports. But relations with Russia have been cratering over the past two years, and Russian media has lambasted him for meeting with opposition politicians. McFaul will be leaving his post "soon after" the Sochi Olympics, he said in a blog post written in both Russian and English. He wrote that he was leaving Russia "reluctantly" but wanted to be closer to his family. "We tried to make a 9,000-kilometer commute work for our family," he said, but "it's time for us to be reunited." He'll return to his longtime gig as a professor at Stanford, the Post reports.