A top White House advisor on the Middle East is to leave President Barack Obama's administration next month, it was announced Thursday, dpa reported.
Dennis Ross, who has advised Obama on the Middle East peace process, the Iranian nuclear programme and the Arab Spring, is leaving the White House after nearly three years, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Ross had intended to serve in the administration for just two years, but stayed longer due to events in the region, Carney said.
"Dennis has been a remarkable contributor to this administration," Carney said, pointing to Ross' efforts on Iranian sanctions and discussions on the revolutions in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia and uprisings in countries including Yemen and Syria.
In a statement published by ABC News, Ross said he would return to private life and was pleased to have served "during a period of unprecedented change in the broader Middle East."