Ex-Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, who was sacked by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday, has left Russia's pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the Moscow City Hall's press service said.
"Yury Luzhkov has appealed to the United Russia party's high committee asking to leave," a spokesman said.
Senior party official Sergei Popov said Luzhkov, a founding member of the United Russia party, was a member of the high committee as Moscow mayor and leader of the Moscow United Russia organization.
"The question of Luzhkov retaining a top position in the party was decided by the fact that ...Medvedev has lost trust in him," Popov said. "This, among other things, probably caused Luzhkov to leave."
However, the head of the United Russia party's election committee, Andrey Vorobyev, said Luzhkov wrote his letter of resignation from the party on September 26, two days before he was dismissed as Moscow mayor.
MOSCOW, September 28 (RIA Novosti)
