US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who played a key role in diplomacy with China and Russia, has announced her retirement at the end of June. Sherman

has been a part of Washington's foreign policy establishment for three decades and was the first woman to serve in her current role.

During her tenure, Sherman led unsuccessful talks with Russia to prevent its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite this, Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Sherman for her leadership in breaking barriers for women and working on some of the toughest foreign policy challenges of our time.

In a note to State Department staff, Sherman reflected on her time in government, which was marked by shifting geopolitical tides, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, rising competition with China, and the war in Ukraine. She acknowledged that nothing lent itself to straightforward answers.

Before her retirement announcement, Sherman spoke to The New York Times about the talks with Russia in January 2022 when Russian forces were massing near Ukraine's borders. She described the talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Geneva as challenging, and said that they knew they were "going to be off to the races."

Sherman's retirement will be a loss to the Biden administration as it continues to navigate the complex geopolitical landscape and engage with China and Russia on key issues. Photo by U.S. Department of State from United States, Wikimedia commons.