The White House officially nominated Matthew Bryza as the next U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan. Bryza currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and until recently was the U.S. Co-Chair to the OSCE Minsk Group charged with helping to negotiate a settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. Bryza’s appointment still needs to be confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and if approved, it will go to a vote in the Senate. Prior to that, however, the Armenian side already has started to express concerns regarding Bryza’s nomination, which is not so far from the reality. But the main emphasis is put on the fact that Bryza’s wife is Turkish and he has pretty close relations with Azerbaijani and Turkish officials. These are indeed the most important facts that can bring up certain prejudice to the policies of Bryza, which may often be anti-Armenian or pro-Azerbaijani. We shouldn’t forget that when he gets appointed he is going to be an Ambassador not in Armenia or some other country but in Azerbaijan. In fact Bryza’s nomination as an Ambassador by Obama is worrisome because of another reason. During his work in the OSCE Minsk Group in the recent years Obama is extremely well informed of not only the process of the NKR conflict resolution but also knows good and well the nuances of work with the Armenian authorities. It is enough to remember how Bryza would visit frequently Armenia after the presidential elections 2008 in Armenia, how he would visit Armenia during the internal political crisis by trying to find edges of reconciliation between the government and the opposition. Indeed this was done with the knowledge of the US State Department and Obama. It means that the fact of appointing Bryza Ambassador to Azerbaijan may mean that a certain agreement was reached regarding the NKR conflict and his ability of finding “common language” with Armenians is necessary to complete the process.
