Tokyo [Japan], January 20 : Russia on Friday appointed Nikolay Nozdrev as its new ambassador to Japan, a post left vacant for a year amid strained ties in the wake of the Russian war on Ukraine, Kyodo News reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order naming Nozdrev, director in charge of Japan and other Asian countries at Russia's Foreign Ministry, as the successor to Mikhail Galuzin, who left the post in November 2022. Nikolay Nozdrev is also fluent in Japanese.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, made Japan impose economic sanctions against Moscow in line with Western nations.
Nozdrev entered the Foreign Ministry after graduating from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1994. He also served as a counsellor at Russia's embassy in Australia from 2010 to 2015, as per Kyodo News.
Meanwhile, Japan's ambassador to Russia, Akira Muto, already took up his post in December.
Bilateral ties turned sour after Japan took punitive measures, such as freezing Putin's assets. Russia had also designated Japan as an "unfriendly" country.
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