The ministry made the remarks in response to Blinken’s earlier statement about the OSCE Minsk Group’s role to facilitate direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Attempts to ‘resuscitate’ the de-facto non-functioning Minsk Group may result from the USA to be estranged from the process of normalisation of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said, according to Caliber.Az.
She reiterated that the Karabakh conflict no longer exists.
“The Karabakh conflict has been resolved, and Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan. The international community, including our partners, should understand that linking the negotiations on the normalisation of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations with the Karabakh issue in no way serves normalisation,” she said.
On August 24, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken appointed Philip Reeker as the new senior adviser to the US State Department for the Caucasus negotiations.
“I am appointing Ambassador Philip T. Reeker as Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations. In this capacity, Ambassador Reeker will serve as US OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair and lead negotiator for the US delegation to the Geneva International Discussions during this critical period,” the State Department quoted Blinken as saying.
The message says that the United States is “committed to helping Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiate a long-term political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.
According to Blinken, “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”.
Previously, the position of senior adviser was held by Andrew Schofer. The State Department does not report on the reasons for the replacement.
