Moscow said Wednesday it has approved the candidacy of a new US ambassador to Russia, John Tefft, who is known for his support for the pro-Western nations of Ukraine and Georgia. "An agreement has been given," President Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov told reporters, referring to a diplomatic procedure in which the host government accepts the nomination of an ambassador. He said he knew Tefft well and called him a "first-class diplomat".