Andrey Rudenko

China's foreign minister Qin Gang was removed from office on Tuesday, state media reported, after not being seen in the public eye for a month.

His absence had sparked a storm of speculation that Qin, considered a confidant of President Xi Jinping, had fallen from grace or was subject to an official investigation.

Meeting in Istanbul on Nov. 15, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and his Russian counterpart Andrey Rudenko discussed regional issues, including Afghanistan.

Russia and Turkey stressed the importance of resuming full-scale air traffic between the two countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on June 9.