Vilayat Guliev, who served as foreign minister from October 1999 until April 2004, has been named ambassador to Poland. On 8 June, the online daily zerkalo.az quoted Guliev, who is 52 and a philologist by training, as saying that he considers his new appointment \"normal\" and proof that the traditions of Azerbaijani statehood are becoming stronger. He pointed out that one Moldovan, one Uzbek, and four Kazakh ex-foreign ministers also serve as ambassadors abroad and added that he was offered a choice of postings and chose Warsaw. Guliev also dismissed as misplaced speculation that he was fired because of his harsh criticism of the OSCE Minsk Group, which seeks to mediate a political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He characterized his successor as foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, as an educated and capable diplomat. (RFE/RL)