French ambassador Aurélien Lechevallier is now officially allowed to resume his duties in the U.S. After a few weeks of diplomatic stalemate, officials in the United States said Tuesday that the approval process will move forward, which will welcome his arrival at the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. Currently serving as chief of staff of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Lechevallier was chosen by President Emmanuel Macron – representing the Élysée Palace – to succeed outgoing envoy Laurent Bili and is likely to arrive in coming weeks.

In late July, after a public spat regarding international voting records, the normally mundane approval of the French envoy was suddenly suspended. The standoff broke out after the U.S. opposed extending the term of the UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, at the United Nations General Assembly. Washington is among a handful of countries that have condemned Turk, who has been a critic of U.S. policy under President Donald Trump, who is opposed by nine others.

The French mission, however, responded to the vote with a scathing attack on social media, calling the United States “no longer a beacon of human rights. This public rebuke was met with Washington’s instant reaction. The diplomatic fault line became even more pronounced days later, when the U.S. representative rose during the meeting of the United Nations Security Council when the French representative was about to speak, to walk out.

An official apology by the French UN mission for its Internet article finally ended the deadlock over the weekend. Washington accepted the apology, which finally lifted the ban on the diplomatic pipeline and paved the way for Lechevallier’s appointment without further restrictions from the federal authorities.