The US State Department responded to the official Baku statement regarding the appointment of a new co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, stating that such steps "cannot contribute to the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations."

Referring to the statement of the Azerbaijani side, Vedant Pantel, the deputy speaker of the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, specifically noted that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has appointed Philip Ricker as "senior adviser on negotiations in the Caucasus to emphasize our commitment to establishing peace in the South Caucasus." "As a country, we are committed to facilitating direct dialogue with Azerbaijan and Armenia at the bilateral, multilateral levels, as well as through cooperation with like-minded partners to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement between the two countries," he noted.

Pantel once again reminded us that from now on, Ambassador Ricker would represent the USA both in the Minsk Group and in the international negotiations in Geneva.

On August 25, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the appointment of experienced diplomat Philip Ricker as the principal adviser in the negotiations on Caucasus issues. In this position, Ricker will also perform the functions of the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and act as the chief negotiator of the US delegation in the international negotiations in Geneva.

This decision was followed by another groundless statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, stating that "...attempts to revive the almost defunct Minsk Group may lead to the withdrawal of the United States from the process of regulating relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia." The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan also announced that "the Karabakh conflict has been settled," adding that linking the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations with the Nagorno-Karabakh issue "will not contribute to the settlement of those relations in any way."