New Delhi, Mar 19 (IANS): Senior diplomat Vinay Kumar has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to Russia, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

Kumar, a 1992 batch officer of Indian Foreign Service, serving as Indian Ambassador to Myanmar since 2021, is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

In his new role, Kumar replaces Pavan Kapoor, who was named the new Secretary (West) in External Affairs Ministry last month.

A graduate of IIT-Kharagpur, Kumar was the Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2018-2020 and served as India’s Political Coordinator in the UNSC in 2011-12.

He also served in Indian missions at Tashkent (1994-95), Bishkek (1995-98), Ottawa (1998-2001), Warsaw (2003-06), Tehran (2006-09), Permanent Mission of India in New York (2010-13), and Kathmandu (2015-17).

Kumar's appointment comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin, 71, won the recent Presidential elections by securing 87.97 per cent votes.

Congratulating President Putin on his landslide electoral victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he looks forward to strengthening the time-tested partnership between the two nations.