Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez has expressed Egypt's condolences over the passing of Russian ambassador to Egypt Sergei Kirpichenko, who passed away on Monday at the age of 68 in a Cairo hospital.

Earlier on Monday, the Russian foreign ministry announced Kirpichenko's death in a statement without revealing the cause of death.

A veteran diplomat, Kirpichenko had been Russia's ambassador to Cairo since 2011 as well as its envoy to the Arab League.

Born in 1951, he served in Russian diplomatic missions in Libya, Syria and United Arab Emirates.

The Russian embassy in Cairo announced in a statement that it would open a condolence book for the public to mourn Kirpichenko on 4 and 5 September.

The embassy has raised the Russian flag at half-mast to mourn the late ambassador.