Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has removed his ambassador to Israel from his post and sent him to serve as his special representative in Geneva amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries, Reuters reports.

The removal of Frederico Meyer comes a few months after Lula called him back to Brazil. Meyer’s recall had followed Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz summoning Meyer to tell him Lula was persona non grata in the Middle Eastern country.

Meyer had not returned to Israel since then. He will now serve as Brazil’s special representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva.

According to the official gazette, no replacement has been appointed to serve in Israel. Brazil’s foreign relations ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.