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Putin dismisses Russian deputy foreign minister

Vladimir Putin has relieved Alexey Meshkov and appointed Alexander Pankin to this position

Alexey Meshkov Alexander Ryumin/TASS

Alexey Meshkov

© Alexander Ryumin/TASS

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has relieved Alexey Meshkov of his duties as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and appointed Alexander Pankin to this position. The decrees to this effect were posted on the official legal information website on Monday.

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"Meshkov Alexey Yuryevich has been relieved of his post as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister due to a transfer to another post," one of the decrees states.

"Pankin Alexander Anatolyevich has been appointed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister," the other decree reads. Both documents come into force on October 23, the day of their signing.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, before this appointment Alexander Pankin served as head of the ministry's International Organizations Department since December 2014. Prior to that, he held the position of Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN from 2010 to 2014.

Alexey Meshkov was appointed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister in December 2012. He served as Russian Ambassador to Italy and San Marino in 2004-2012 and Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN World Food Program in 2006-2012.

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