The Russian news agency TASS said that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who also held the position of Special Representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Middle East and Africa, was exempted from his duties on Wednesday at the request of him.
Tas quoted a source as saying that the departure of Bogdanov, who was announced in a presidential decree, was based on his request and for personal reasons.
Bogdanov, 74, graduated at the Moscow Governmental Institute for International Relations in 1974 during the Soviet era.
He held the position of Russian ambassador to Israel from 1997 to 2002, and worked as an ambassador to Egypt from 2005 to 2011.
He has served as a special presidential actor in the Middle East since 2012, as well as the special representative of Africa since 2014.
