Russia has created the position of ambassador for Islamic issues, and Veniamin Popov has been named to this post. Popov is a former Soviet ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. More recently, he headed the Russian delegation to negotiations on a cooperation agreement with Moldova. Last year, Popov declared that that agreement showed that \"the Russian language was and is the most important means of communication on the territory of the former Soviet Union.\" He also argued at the time that the introduction of Russian-language courses in Moldovan schools was not done \"to please Moscow.\" (Interfax)