Lavrov to remain Russian FM after reshuffle

Acting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to continue in his position after a government reshuffle mandated by Vladimir Putin’s inauguration as president, the upper house of the Russian parliament announced on Sunday.

Lavrov, 74, has served as foreign minister in consecutive Russian governments since 2004. Before that, the career diplomat spent a decade representing Moscow at the UN. In the early 1990s, under President Boris Yeltsin, he held the position of deputy foreign minister.

The only minister to lose his post is Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. He is set to lose the post of Minister of Defense of Russia to acting First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov. 

The new cabinet is being selected under new rules introduced in 2020. The constitutional amendment adopted that year gives Russian lawmakers a greater say on who is part of the cabinet as all nominations require confirmation. Previously, only the prime minister had to be approved by MPs, before being appointed by the president.