Interfax, Russia
Feb 26 2010

Russia to appoint new ambassador to Karabakh peace talks

MOSCOW Feb 26

Russia will replace its envoy for negotiations aimed at settling the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei
Nesterenko said at a press briefing in Moscow.

Yury Merzlyakov, who held the post until recently, "has been given a
new diplomatic mission," Nesterenko said.

The ministry spokesman neither confirmed nor denied reports claiming
that Yury Popov, Russia’s former representative to the now- extinct
mixed commission in charge of resolving the Georgian-South Ossetian
conflict, could be appointed to this post.

Nesterenko said he was confident that the new ambassador’s work would
be "as extensive and energetic" as his predecessor’s.

"Our country’s position [on the Karabakh peace process] is determined
by the president and is realized by the Foreign Ministry," he said.