Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 24 / Trend V. Zhavoronkova /
U.S. First Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg arrived in Baku.
Steinberg left Tbilisi and arrived in Baku. Earlier, he was in Yerevan.
Steinberg is accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon during his regional tour.
U.S. senior officials visited Azerbaijan last summer. Then-Pentagon Chief Robert Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Baku.
In December 2010, after an 18 -month absence of a U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Matthew Bryza to the post.
According to the U.S. Constitution, the candidates nominated by the president must be approved by the Senate. However, as Congress is between sessions, the president may make appointments independently.