"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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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called President of the United States Donald Trump on 25 November.
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Director of the Institute of Political Management, political scientist Azer Gasymly has been summoned to the Main Police Department of Baku at 16:00 today. He wrote about it in facebook.
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Adalyat Verdiyev, the head of the civil defense staff at the public legal entity Center for Public Health and Reform under the Ministry of Health, and a military expert, has been arrested. On November 22, during a media tour to the liberated territories, Verdiyev filmed and published information and images on his social media accounts revealing Azerbaijani Armed Forces' combat positions in the heights, deployment sites, coordinates, and operational conditions of the border troops. This disclosure caused significant damage to the interests of state security and defense capability. This was stated in a report from the General Prosecutor’s Office.
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On Monday, the Baku Appeals Court considered the appeal of Talysh researcher Iqbal Abilov against the extension of his detention for another four months. The defense argued that the decision to extend Abilov's detention was unjustified, lawyer Fariz Namazly told reporters.
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