MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Vladimir Vasilyev, the Foreign Ministry’s ambassador-at-large, as the country’s new permanent representative to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), according to a decree signed by the head of state.

"The Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador-at-Large Viktor Vasilyev is hereby appointed as Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the Collective Security Treaty Organization," the document reads. Vasilyev served as Russia’s envoy to the CSTO in 2013. He also used to serve as Moscow’s permanent representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

The president also signed a decree releasing Mikael Agasandyan, director of the Foreign Ministry’s First CIS Department, from the position of Russia’s CSTO envoy.