President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), who is completing his mission.

Merzlyakov introduced the newly appointed Russian Co-Chair Igor Popov to the Azerbaijani President. The sides discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, reported xronika.az.

Igor Popov is a career Russian diplomat. He held different posts at the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He worked as Rusian Ambassador to Mozambique, with concurrent accreditation to the Kingdom of Swaziland.

In his interview with the Public TV channel, Popov stated that the Nagorno-Karbakh peace process is rapidly developing. He promised to contribute to the settlement process as his predecessor Yuri Merzlyakov. He stated that his appointment does not mean any change in Russia’s official position on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

NEWS.am was the first media outlet to report the planned appointment of Igor Popov as far back as late February 2010.

According to some information, Yuri Merzlyakov may be appointed RF Ambassador to Estonia.

T.P.