US appoints new Co-Chair to the OSCE Minsk Group

On Monday US announced career diplomat James Warlick's appointment as the next US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, TURAN's correspondent reports. Ambassador Warlick will assume his new position in September. He will replace Amb. Robert Bradtke as the US co-chairman. Until recently Amb. Ian Kelly was acting on this position on an interim basis.. "Ambassador Warlick brings extensive experience in Europe and Eurasia to this position... He is a first-rate diplomat, and I am confident that he will do a tremendous job in this critical post," John Kerry, Secretary of State said, according to the State Department press release. The Co-Chair most recently served as Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and lead negotiator for the Bilateral Security Agreement with Afghanistan. He also served as Ambassador to Bulgaria from 2009-2012, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs from 2006 to 2009, and Director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs from 2005 to 2006, responsible for political-military and security issues for Europe and the former Soviet Union, including NATO, OSCE, and related arms control and nonproliferation policy issues. In his statement, Secretary Kerry refreshed Washington's commitments "to helping the sides reach a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict." 

"In their joint statement on June 18, Presidents Obama, Putin, and Hollande called on the sides to focus with renewed energy on the issues that remain unresolved, and noted that the leaders should prepare their people for peace, not war. Ambassador Warlick has the wisdom, judgment, and expertise to help the sides achieve that goal," he emphasized. Washington has already informed Baku, Yerevan and Vienna of Ambassador Warlick's appointment. -25В-