U.S. responds to Azerbaijan, defends Minsk Group appointment

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States has responded to Azerbaijan's threats to remove Washington from the process of normalization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

On Wednesday, August 24, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken appointed Ambassador Philip Reeker as Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations and Minsk Group Co-Chair. Blinken noted that Reeker’s appointment reaffirms Washington's commitment to peaceful resolution of conflicts in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva took to Twitter to respond to Blinken's appointment and repeat Azerbaijan's narrative that "the Karabakh conflict has been resolved" and that "Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan."

"Attempts to 'resuscitate' the de-facto non-functioning Minsk Group may result the USA to be estranged from the process of normalization of the Azerbaijani-Armenian relations," the spokesperson wrote.

However, Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Bureau of Global Public Affairs, later defended the appointment, maintaining that Blinken appointed Reeker to serve as the senior advisor for Caucasus negotiations to underscore the United States' commitment to facilitating peace in the South Caucasus.

"As a country, we are committed to facilitating direct dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia bilaterally, multilaterally, and in cooperation with likeminded partners to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement between the two countries," Patel added.