Ambassador Beyrle was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 13, 2008 to be the United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 27. One month after his arrival in Moscow, Russia and Georgia fought the brief 2008 South Ossetia War. On September 11 in an interview on the Russian radio station "Ekho Moskvy" he noted that the United States had warned the Georgian government not to respond to provocations and not to send troops into South Ossetia, and he criticized the Russian actions in Georgia, particularly the rapid recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.