Trend Daily News (Azerbaijan)
December 30, 2010 Thursday 3:06 PM GMT +4
U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan waits for Ambassador’s taking office
Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 30 / Trend V. Zhavoronkova /
The U.S. Embassy is pleased with the appointment of Matthew Bryza, the
U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, by President Barack Obama and waiting
for the ambassador’s taking office soon, U.S. Embassy spokesman, Keith
Bean, told Trend.
“We are delighted that the ambassador appointed upon the President’s
personal decision will take the office. We do not know when he will
arrive in Baku, but we are expecting him at an early date,” Bean said.
He said a series of questions should be addressed to know exactly when
he arrives.
U.S President, Barack Obama, appointed Matthew Bryza as U.S.
Ambassador to Azerbaijan, the press secretariat of the White House
said on Wednesday.
According to the U.S. Constitution, the Senate of the U.S Congress
must nominate the candidates proposed by the president. However, when
Congress is in recess between sessions, the President may take it upon
himself to appoint officials.
The presidential decree provides an opportunity to fulfill new duties
immediately, without waiting for approval by the Senate. But if the
senators do not approve the nomination before the end of the next
session of Congress (November-December 2011), this decree ceases to
operate.
Obama used his constitutional power during the recess appoint six
people who have had their nominations pending for an average of 147
days, according to White House officials.
The U.S Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved Bryza’s
appointment on Sept. 22.
Bryza’s candidacy was officially proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama.
The post of U.S. Ambassador in Baku had been vacant since the previous
ambassador, Anne Derse, left after completing of her diplomatic
mission in July 2009.
Bryza currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for European
and Eurasian Affairs. Previously he served as the Director for Europe
and Eurasia at the National Security Council in the White House, and
has also been Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State
on the Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. Earlier he also served in
Russia and Poland, and was appointed as the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
From: A. Papazian