Blinken appoints new senior adviser for Caucasus negotiations and Minsk Group co-chair

YEREVAN, Aug. 25. /ARKA/. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has appointed Philip Reeker as a new senior adviser for Caucasus negotiations.

‘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 tweeted.

Blinken said in a written statement released by the State Department press office that the U.S. is committed to helping Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiate a lasting political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and through "interaction with like-minded partners such as the EU, Ricker intends to facilitate direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he said, according to TASS.

Reeker served as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2019 to 2021, and later served as U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in the United Kingdom.

In June, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said in an interview with Radio Azatutyun that despite the Ukrainian crisis, Washington was ready to continue cooperating with Russia on the Karabakh issue.

The Russian Foreign Ministry questioned Washington's sincerity on this issue. "The troika's work has been irreparably damaged," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, arguing that the United States and France severed ties with the Russian co-chair after the war in Ukraine began.

A month after this statement, the U.S. ambassador reiterated that they were waiting for Russia to return to the Minsk Group. -0-