Russia names new ambassador to Greece
Russia has appointed Yuri Gorlach as its new ambassador to Greece, replacing Andrey Maslov, who has led the Russian diplomatic mission in Athens since 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the appointment decree on Friday.
Career diplomat moves to Athens
Born in 1960, Gorlach graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1983 and joined Russia's Foreign Ministry the same year.
He has held senior positions at the ministry and served in several diplomatic posts abroad, including as a counsellor at the Russian Embassy in Spain from 1999 to 2003.
From 2005 to 2014, he was deputy director of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Pan-European Cooperation.
Gorlach then served as deputy permanent representative to NATO from 2014 to 2018 and as acting permanent representative in Brussels until September 2021.
He became director of the Foreign Ministry's Situational Crisis Center in October 2021, a position he held until his appointment to Athens.
Gorlach speaks English and Spanish.
