U.S. Deputy Secretary of State to arrive in Baku

The First Deputy Secretary of State of the U.S. James B. Steinberg will arrive in Baku on Feb.24, the U.S. Embassy said on Monday.

"The First Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg will arrive in Baku from Tbilisi," the embassy official said.

The U.S. senior officials visited Azerbaijan in summer, 2010. Then Pentagon Head Robert Gates and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Baku.

As the Armenian media outlets reported citing the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan, the U.S. delegation headed by the Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg will also visit Armenia on Feb.23.

In December 2010, after 18-month absence of the U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, United States President Barack Obama appointed Matthew Bryza on this post.

According to the U.S. Constitution, the candidates nominated by the President must be approved by the Senate of the U.S. Congress. However, at a time when Congress is in recess between sessions, the President may make appointments independently.


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