Putin signs decree dismissing Russia’s ambassador to UK

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a decree dismissing his country’s ambassador to the UK, with his tenure set to end as scheduled.

The dismissal of Andrey Kelin, who took the post in 2019, was confirmed by a presidential decree posted on the government portal.

Earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Kelin’s tenure as Moscow’s ambassador to London would end as scheduled and that his successor would be announced in “due course.”

No details were given as to Kelin’s future role.

The decree comes a day after Putin also relieved Aleksey Meshkov, Russia’s ambassador to France, who has served in the post since 2017.

Separately, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there is no rush to appoint new Russian ambassadors to the UK and France, citing the lack of normal bilateral relations with the two countries.

The decrees “are not necessarily signed simultaneously—the dismissal and the appointment—and there may be certain pauses,” he said.

“Moreover, as you can see for yourselves, given the absence of bilateral relations, there is no particular rush," he added, as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.