A representative of the US Department of State responded to the harsh statement of by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan regarding the appointment of Philip Reeker as the new US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, RFE/RL Armenian Service reported.

During the State Department press briefing a few hours ago in Washington D.C., Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the Bureau of Global Public Affairs at the US State Department, said that with Reeker’s appointment, the US aims to achieve comprehensive Armenian-Azerbaijani peace.

Azerbaijani Turan news agency asked Patel: “I want to ask you about the U.S. role in the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process, especially in the wake of yesterday’s announcement came out from the Secretary. It looks like the Azeris are surprised by the appointment of Ambassador Reeker to the post of Minsk Group co-chair as well as senior advisor for Caucasus negotiations. In fact, the Azeri foreign affairs ministry described it as ‘an approach far from the post-conflict [reality]…in the region.’ Can I get your reaction to that?”

And Patel responded: “On your question about Armenia and Azerbaijan and the appointment of Ambassador Reeker, look, the Secretary appointed him to serve as the senior advisor for Caucasus negotiations to underscore our commitment to facilitating peace in the South Caucasus. As a country, we are committed to facilitating direct dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia bilaterally, multilaterally, and in cooperation with likeminded partners to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement between the two countries. His selection underscores our commitment to the Geneva International Discussions, where we’re going to continue to hold Russia accountable to the commitments it made under the 2008 ceasefire. Also, as part of his diplomatic advisor role, Ambassador Reeker will also represent the U.S. both at the OSCE Minsk Group and at the Geneva International Discussions as I mentioned.”