"I am appointing Ambassador Philip T. Reeker as Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations. In this capacity, Ambassador Reeker will serve as U.S. OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair and lead negotiator for the U.S. delegation to the Geneva International Discussions during this critical period," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a Wednesday night statement.
Ambassador Reeker brings extensive experience in Europe and international organizations, according to Blinken.
Reeket served most recently at the Embassy of the United States of America in the United Kingdom as Chargé d’Affaires to the Court of St. James’s. From March 2019 to August 2021, Reeker was Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. Prior to heading the Bureau, Ambassador Reeker was Civilian Deputy and Policy Advisor to the Commander of U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. He served earlier as United States Consul General in Milan, covering northern Italy, and was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State focused on the Balkans, Central Europe, and Holocaust Issues. From 2008-2011 he was U.S. Ambassador to North Macedonia.
"The United States is committed to helping Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiate a long-term political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Blinken noted.
"Ambassador Reeker will engage bilaterally, with like-minded partners such as the European Union, and through his role as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, to facilitate direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he added.
Ambassador Reeker’s appointment at this time reaffirms the importance the United States places in the Geneva International Discussions on Georgia, the Secretary added.
In his new position as the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, Amb. Reeker will replace Laura Hochla, who had been appointed to this post in June.
It should be noted that Reeker was already a participant in the Karabakh settlement process. It was after his visit to Baku in June 2021 that 15 Armenian prisoners were released.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
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Aziz Orujev, the health of the head of “Kanal-13” Internet TV, who is under arrest, has deteriorated, his lawyer Bahruz Bayramov told Turan. According to him, the journalist suffers from panic attacks. "His hands are shaking, his general condition is deteriorating dramatically," the lawyer said. Orujev is currently being treated at the Prison Service hospital.
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On May 1, the former head of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), Jahangir Hajiyev, announced a hunger strike in prison N13 in protest against the absence of effective medical care and conditions of detention, his lawyer Hajiyev Fahraddin Mehdiyev, who met with his client on May 2, said Turan. According to him, Hajiyev suffers from thyroid disease, cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension. However, despite repeated appeals, he is not being transferred either to the Medical Institution of the penitentiary service or the medical and sanitary part of the colony, Mehdiyev said.
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Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan are due to be held in November, but their dates may be postponed to an earlier date, the head of the CEC Mazahir Panahov stated at a meeting of this structure. The next parliamentary elections in November coincide with the COP29 climate conference, Panahov noted. "For this reason, a decision may be made to postpone the elections to an earlier period," he said.
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President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on the payment of a one-time allowance to veterans of the Second World War. Thus, the participants in the war will receive 2,000 thousand manats (about $ 1,200) each.
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