Transnistria's leader Igor Smirnov on Tuesday decreed the dismissal of Valery Litskai from the post of foreign minister of the breakaway republic. Under another decree, first deputy foreign minister Vladimir Yastrebchak will serve as a caretaker, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the Transnistrian agency Regnum, the reason for sacking Litskai was the recent worsening of Transnistria's relationship with Russia and the pro-Ukrainian stance of Transnistria's foreign minister. In an interview with Regnum, Transnistrian self-styled speaker Evgheni Shevciuk assured that the foreign policy of the PMR would not change significantly following Litskai's dismissal. Earlier, the former chairman of the supreme soviet in Tiraspol, Grigory Maracutsa, criticized Litskai's work, blaming him for Transnistria's failure during the hearings in the Russian Duma on March 13. Valery Litskai had been minister of foreign affairs of the separatist republic for 17 years.