Yury Fedotov, Russia’s ambassador to Britain, has resigned to become head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Interfax reported Tuesday.
President Dmitry Medvedev approved the resignation of Fedotov, who will start his new job Sept. 13, the report said. Fedotov, who will also head the UN’s Vienna branch, will be the first Russian head of the anti-drug watchdog, established in 1997.
Fedotov’s UN appointment, announced in July, has been criticized by European nongovernmental organizations, who cited Russia’s abysmal record on fighting drug-related cases of HIV as a reason not to give the post to Russia.
(MT)
