Kremlin installs new Ukraine negotiator
Ties between Ukraine and Russia were shredded after a bloody uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime in 2014
Like Putin, Kozak worked in the Saint Petersburg mayor's office in the 1990s and has been in charge of a wide range of official projects since 1999. PHOTO: AFP
MOSCOW:
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had appointed veteran official Dmitry Kozak as its pointman on relations with Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists amid efforts to de-escalate a five-year conflict.
The 61-year-old official replaces secretive strategist Vladislav Surkov, who had overseen Russia's ties with Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries since 2013.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not say whether Surkov, 55, would be leaving the Kremlin all together but added that Kozak was now the Kremlin's pointman Ukraine.
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"In his new role Kozak is in charge and will continue to be in charge of Ukrainian issues," Peskov told reporters.
Kozak, a former deputy prime minister, was appointed deputy head of Kremlin administration in late January.
Like Putin, Kozak worked in the Saint Petersburg mayor's office in the 1990s and has been in charge of a wide range of official projects since 1999.
He supervised Putin's first re-election campaign in 2004, was responsible for preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and served as Kremlin's pointman on ties with Moldova.
After Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Kozak was among Russian officials to be slapped with Western sanctions.
Kozak's appointment came just as a Kremlin-connected political analyst said Surkov was quitting his post because of an unspecified "change of direction" in Moscow's Ukraine policies.
Alexei Chesnakov, a close Surkov ally, said the former Putin adviser would meditate for a month after quitting the Kremlin.
Ties between Ukraine and Russia were shredded after a bloody uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime in 2014.
Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky set for Paris one-on-one: Kremlin
Moscow went on to annex Crimea and support insurgents in eastern Ukraine. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict, Europe's only active war.
In December last year, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met for the first time at a summit in Paris aimed at agreeing measures to help end the conflict.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had appointed veteran official Dmitry Kozak as its pointman on relations with Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists amid efforts to de-escalate a five-year conflict.
The 61-year-old official replaces secretive strategist Vladislav Surkov, who had overseen Russia's ties with Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries since 2013.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not say whether Surkov, 55, would be leaving the Kremlin all together but added that Kozak was now the Kremlin's pointman Ukraine.
Kremlin insists Putin-Johnson meeting was 'constructive'
"In his new role Kozak is in charge and will continue to be in charge of Ukrainian issues," Peskov told reporters.
Kozak, a former deputy prime minister, was appointed deputy head of Kremlin administration in late January.
Like Putin, Kozak worked in the Saint Petersburg mayor's office in the 1990s and has been in charge of a wide range of official projects since 1999.
He supervised Putin's first re-election campaign in 2004, was responsible for preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and served as Kremlin's pointman on ties with Moldova.
After Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Kozak was among Russian officials to be slapped with Western sanctions.
Kozak's appointment came just as a Kremlin-connected political analyst said Surkov was quitting his post because of an unspecified "change of direction" in Moscow's Ukraine policies.
Alexei Chesnakov, a close Surkov ally, said the former Putin adviser would meditate for a month after quitting the Kremlin.
Ties between Ukraine and Russia were shredded after a bloody uprising ousted a Kremlin-backed regime in 2014.
Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky set for Paris one-on-one: Kremlin
Moscow went on to annex Crimea and support insurgents in eastern Ukraine. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict, Europe's only active war.
In December last year, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met for the first time at a summit in Paris aimed at agreeing measures to help end the conflict.