 In 2004, Kovalenko was appointed as Director of the Second Department of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was appointed as Ambassador of Russia to Georgia on 11 July 2006.On 29 August 2008, Georgia ordered all Russian diplomats to leave the country.Kovalenko left Tbilisi on 30 September with 22 Russian diplomats on a flight to Moscow.