Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree sacking Mikhail Babich as Moscow's ambassador to Belarus.
The Kremlin said on its website that Putin was appointing Dmitry Mezentsev as the new ambassador in Minsk.
The decree said Babich was also dismissed as Russia's special presidential envoy for development of trade and economic cooperation with Belarus.
Babich had caused controversy in Belarus with several public statements that had also raised the ire of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatol Hlaz objected on March 15 to Babich's comments in an interview that contradicted Lukashenka in his assertion that Russia was intentionally preventing Belarusian goods from entering the Russian market.
"Relations between our countries and peoples are much deeper and pervasive than those artificial and juggled figures the Russian diplomat [Babich] regularly sticks to," Hlaz said. "I believe that in such a short time spent here in Belarus he simply failed to understand the difference between a [Russian] federal district and an independent state."
Mezentsev has previously served as a regional governor in Russia and was a Russian official in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Putin Dismisses Controversial Ambassador To Belarus
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
Putin Sends Signals To The West On Ukraine Ahead Of Trump's New Term
2Kyiv Says It Broke Up Russian Spy Network Targeting F-16 Fighter Data
3Assad Breaks Silence, Says He Left Syria As Russian Base Came Under Attack
4The Moment A Russian General Was Killed By A Scooter Bomb In Moscow
5Ukraine, U.S. Say North Korean Soldiers Killed, Wounded In Russia's Kursk
6'They Look Tense': Photographer Describes Scenes At Russian Base In Syria
7What Would The Russian Capture Of Pokrovsk Mean For The Ukraine War?
8Russian General Charged With Chemical Weapons Use In Ukraine Killed In Blast Claimed By Kyiv
9U.S., U.K. Say Medvedev's Comment Calling NATO Officials 'Legitimate Targets' Irresponsible
10Bolstered By North Korean Troops, Russia Presses Attacks in Kursk Region
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
