MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Yevgeniy Lukyanov as the new Ambassador to Belarus. The presidential order has been published on the official legal information website Thursday.

"Appoint Lukyanov Yevgeniy Vladimirovich as Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Belarus," the order says. Another presidential order relived Lukyanov of his duties as Ambassador to Latvia.

This office was previously occupied by Dmitry Mezentsev, who was appointed as the State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus on March 19, 2021, succeeding Grigory Rapota.

Earlier, Russian State Duma Committee on CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and communication with compatriots endorsed Lukyanov’s appointment as the Ambassador to Belarus.