Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Sergey Butin a deputy foreign minister, according to a decree published on Monday.
The appointment of Butin, 59, comes into effect immediately.
In a separate decree, the Russian president canceled the post of Deputy Foreign Minister for Counterterrorism, a position previously held by Oleg Syromolotov, who retired last week.
Meanwhile, the limit number of deputy foreign ministers permitted by Russian law will stay the same at 10.
