Putin Removes Kremlin Chief of Staff from Duties

Local Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin removed from office the presidential chief of staff, Sergey Ivanov, the Kremlin press service reported.

Ivanov occupied a number of top positions in the government, including the post of defense minister in the early 2000s.

Ivanov has also been appointed the president's ecology and transport special representative.

Putin simultaneously appointed a new chief of staff, naming Anton Vaino to the post. Vaino had been Ivanov's deputy since May 2012, several months after Ivanov had been appointed presidential chief of staff.

Putin said that Ivanov himself requested a transfer to another role, and proposed Vaino as a candidate for his position.

"I do remember that we've agreed upon your request not to keep you in this post for more than four years," Putin told Ivanov during a meeting on Friday, aired live on Russia 24. "I'm receptive to your wish to transfer to another area of activity," the president said.

Ivanov worked in Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service upon graduation from university in 1981 until 1998.

When Vladimir Putin was appointed Federal Security Service [FSB] chief, Ivanov became his deputy, later being appointed a member of Russia's Security Council.

In 2001 he was appointed defense minister - a position in which he served until February 2007. He was then made deputy prime minister under President Dmitry Medvedev.

Sergey Ivanov was appointed presidential chief of staff on December 22, 2011.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team