US APPOINTS NEW CO-CHAIR IN OSCE MINSK GROUP

Steven Mann will become the new US Co-Chair in the OSCE Minsk Group for settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem, US Ambassador to Baku Reno Harnish told the Azeri Defense Minister, saying he hoped that “it will give impetus to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.” It should be noted that Steven Mann, who is the US State Department senior adviser for Caspian Basin Energy Development, will replace Rudolf Perina, which has been co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group since 2001. The Baku press thereupon writes, that just owing to the efforts of Steven Mann the building of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline began and it was him, who managed to solve the main task the US had – to provide for transportation of energy sources of the Caspian via the itinerary favorable to Washington. As stated by Azeri political scientist, former head of the Azeri President’s Administration Eldar Namazov, Steven Mann, who knows the problems of the region well, will not need time to familiarize with the essence of the Karabakh issue and the positions of the parties to conflict.