Earle D. Litzenberger
Trump picks an experienced hand for US ambassador to Azerbaijan
The White House announced Tuesday evening that President Donald Trump has chosen a career diplomat, Earle D. Litzenberger, to be the U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, a move that, according to some observers, would ensure an experienced hand in a country that Washington is playing closer attention too, TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.
If confirmed, Litzenberger, who until last year served as the acting permanent representative of the US to NATO, would be arriving in Baku as the country has reportedly begun to debate joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russian-led military alliance of former Soviet satellites that also includes Armenia, Belarus, and Tajikistan.
Mr. Litzenberger, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the Department of State.
During his career in the Foreign Service, Mr. Litzenberger also served as Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund; NATO Deputy Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan; Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia; and Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Mr. Litzenberger earned a B.A. from Middlebury College and M.S. from the United States Army War College.
He is the recipient of the Matilda W. Sinclaire Language Award. He also speaks French, Russian, Serbian, and Bulgarian.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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