Russia has appointed a new ambassador to Cyprus, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Murat Magometovich Zyazikov, 65 replaces Stanislav Osadchiy, 71 who served as ambassador to Cyprus since 2013.
Born in what is now, Kyrgyzstan, Zyazikov, who identifies as a Muslim, was the second president of the autonomous republic of Ingushetia (2002-2008).
He also served as a member of the Soviet intelligence service (KGB) and later the Russian FSB.
From October 2008 he held the post of advisor to the Russian president.
According to the Kremlin website, he graduated from the history faculty of the Tolstoy Chechen-Ingush State University in 1980 and the faculty of law of the South-Russian Institute of the Humanities in 2002.
