New U.S. Ambassador to arrive in Azerbaijan

New U.S. Ambassador Richard Morningstar will arrive in Azerbaijan after August 25, it was announced at a private event held in honour of the new U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan in the office of the United States-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (USACC) in Georgetown.

Morningstar raised the issues of energy security and cooperation in the Caspian region, adding that the South Energy Corridor is important for Azerbaijan in terms of energy diversification, according to a press release of the United States-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (USACC).

The Ambassador also stressed the importance of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for both countries. The event was also attended by members of USACC, representatives of the U.S. and the Government of Azerbaijan, Trend News reports.

On June 30, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Richard Morningstar as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan.

The nomination of Morningstar, who was nominated for the post in April by U.S. President Barack Obama, was unanimously approved by the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

The United States has had no ambassador in Azerbaijan since the former Ambassador Matthew Bryza completed his mission in late December last year.

On December 29, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed by his personal order Matthew Bryza, a career diplomat and former Assistant Secretary of State, to the post of U. S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, bypassing the Senate, which blocked his appointment for a few months under pressure from pro-Armenian senators Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez.