(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Vugar Khalilov
Philip Reeker, new Senior Adviser for Caucasus Negotiations of
the US State Department, will visit the region soon, Azernews
reports, citing Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson at U.S.
Department of State.
In conformity with Patel, Reeker will pay visits to the three
South Caucasus states of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan during
his first tour to the region.
“Ambassador Reeker, our senior advisor for Caucasus
negotiations, will be traveling to the region this week in what
will be his first trip in this new role. This is a first of what we
expect to be regular travel to the region. He departs this evening
and will be going to Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, and in all
three countries he'll meet with senior officials to discuss key
issues in the region as well as looking for pathways to assist
partners and engaging directly and constructively to resolve
outstanding issues and further regional cooperation,” Patel
detailed .
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken named Reeker as senior
advisor for Caucasus negotiations on August 24, 2022. In this
position, he serves as co-chair of the US OSCE Minsk Group and
principal negotiator for the US delegation to the Geneva
International Discussions.
“I have appointed Ambassador Philip Reeker as Senior Advisor for
Caucasus Negotiations and Minsk Group Co-Chair. Ambassador Reeker's
appointment reaffirms our commitment to peaceful resolution of
conflicts in the South Caucasus,” Blinken wrote on his Twitter account.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan protested against this decision of the US,
saying that the resurrection efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group may
lead to the alienation of the country from the Azerbaijan-Armenia
normalization process, Azernews reports, citing Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva.
“Attempts to `resuscitate' the de-facto non-functioning Minsk
Group may result in the USA to be estranged from the process of
normalization of the Azerbaijani-Armenian relations,” Abdullayeva
stressed.
The spokesperson described the press statement as“surprising”
and“an approach far from the post-conflict reality in the
region”.
According to the diplomat, Azerbaijan's position on the Minsk
Group has been consistently and unequivocally stated at the highest
level.
“The Karabakh conflict has been resolved and Karabakh is an
integral part of Azerbaijan. The international community, including
our partners, should understand that connecting negotiation on the
normalization of the Azerbaijani-Armenian relations with the
Karabakh issue does not serve normalization at all,” Abdullayeva
emphasized.
---
Follow us on Twitter
@AzerNewsAz
MENAFN07092022000195011045ID1104824671
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.