APPOINTMENT OF ROBERT BRADTKE IS EVIDENCE OF THE FACT THAT THE KARABAKH CONFLICT IS IN THE PRIORITY OF US POLICY, ARMENIAN EXPERT THINKS

Arminfo
2009-09-10 13:53:00

Arminfo. What is most significant in the recent appointment of a new
diplomat to replace Matthew Bryza as cochairman of the Minsk Group of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the
fact that Bryza’s position was divided into two separate portfolios:
with Tina Kaidanow as the new U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State and Robert Bradtke as the new Minsk Group co-chairman, Director
of Armenian Center for National and International Studies Richard
Giragosian told Arminfo correspondent.

He also added this means that the US has decided to place a new
importance and political emphasis on the position, and by choosing
Ambassador Robert Bradtke as the new Minsk Group co-chair, has
demonstrated that the post requires a higher level of experience
and standing.

"More specifically, Ambassador Bradtke has more than thirty-six years
of diplomatic experience and has an expertise in European security
policy, as well as having served as the Chief of Mission at the
American Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia and as Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, with responsibility for
NATO and the OSCE. Thus, the new appointment should be seen in the
broader context of a new political priority for the position and an
enhanced importance by the Obama Administration on the work of the OSCE
Minsk Group in mediating the Karabagh conflict. And interestingly,
the decision to divide the Bryza portfolio actually is a return to
earlier US policy of having the Karabagh conflict as a responsibility
of one individual, rather than as part of a larger portfolio of a
deputy assistant secretary in charge of regional affairs, which was
the standard practice since 2004. Nevertheless, the actual impact on
the course of mediation remains to be seen, as it is both too early
to predict any real effect and it is still the Azerbaijan and Armenian
positions that remain the most critical factors", Giragosian said.