MINSK, June 27 President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko appointed Dmitry Krutoy as head of his administration, who previously served as the republic’s ambassador to Russia, the Telegram channel “Pool of the First” reported on Thursday.
“The Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus is Dmitry Krutoy,” the message said following the review by the head of state personnel issues.
On August 1, 2022, Krutoy was appointed Ambassador to the Russian Federation with the powers of the Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus and concurrently the plenipotentiary representative of the republic to the CIS Economic Council, the special representative of Belarus on issues of integration cooperation within the Union State, the EAEU, the CIS and the CSTO. Previously, in different years, Krutoy held the positions of Minister of Economy, First Deputy Prime Minister, and Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration.
In turn, Industry Minister Alexander Rogozhnik was appointed as the new Ambassador of Belarus to the Russian Federation, and his place will be taken by the former Deputy Alexander Efimov.
According to the press service of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the head of state explained the choice of the ambassador to the Russian Federation by the fact that the main prospects for Belarus's work with Russia are those projects that lie in the industrial sector. «We still have a lot of questions there. Let him deal with it,» said the Belarusian leader.
Addressing Krutoy, Lukashenko noted that he would control Rogozhnik. «Where necessary, involve the government, where necessary, stir up the ambassador. Rogozhnik has been warned about his activity in the Russian space. Because the main characteristic that I have of the current ambassador, Dmitry Krutoy, is that he does not give himself peace, rushes around all over Russia, like a workaholic. And the second is for his subordinates — they are also restless: if he does not fulfill this or that obligation on time, then work on Saturday and Sunday,» said Lukashenko.
According to him, this is what is needed today for the presidential administration, and above all in terms of control over the government and other structures. «We must work three times more today than we did yesterday,» the Belarusian leader emphasized.