EREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARTSAKHPRESS. The Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement is “of deep importance” to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and is something that the State Department is paying close attention to, U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing.
Patel reminded that Blinken has spoken with both the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan and that the United States is going to continue to remain deeply engaged on the issue.
The State Department spokesperson also commented on Ambassador Reeker’s replacement with Louis Bono as Senior Advisor on the Caucasus Negotiations.
“On the subject of Mr. Bono, he is the lead for U.S. engagement to promote peace and stability for the South Caucasus. And he also represents the United States in the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair format, as his predecessors have in this role. Specifically, what I will say, though, about his qualifications – as I just said, this is an enduring priority for the Biden administration. And Mr. Bono is a senior leader in the department with significant experience working on challenging and complex issues. And he has the personal confidence of Secretary Blinken and this department in taking on this new role,” Patel said.
