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.