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MATTHEW BRYZA: FROM OIL POLICY TO THE OIL BUSINESS
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65524
June 11, 2012 - 9:26am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
In case you were worrying, rest assured that Caucasus celebrity Matthew
Bryza, the never-confirmed former US ambassador to Azerbaijan, has,
according to Azerbaijani media, "found a new job." Or, as one news
outlet from Azerbaijani enemy Armenia, put it: "The Azerbaijanis
found a job for Bryza."
Bryza, a household name for everyone in (or with an interest in) the
Caucasus, left Baku in 2011 after the US Senate, with active prodding
from Armenian Diaspora lobbyists, failed to uphold his appointment
as US ambassador to Azerbaijan.
But Washington's longtime point man for the Caucasus has not gone far.
He will stay close at hand to serve on the board of directors of
Turkey's Turcas Petrol, an oil company affiliated with Azerbaijan's
state oil and gas giant, SOCAR.
In opposing Bryza's appointment to Baku, Diaspora lobbyists took strong
issue with what they claimed was his bias in Azerbaijan's favor --
a charge he hotly denied. Bryza, as a deputy advisor to the president
and secretary of state on Caspian-Basin energy policy and, later,
as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs, played a key role in pushing forward an Azerbaijan-Europe
energy corridor that bypasses Russia.
To many anti-Bryza-ites, the Turcas Petrol board post will only
appear confirmation that the career diplomat truly was one of Baku's
best buddies.
But some opponents of the Azerbaijani government have another beef.
They complain that the 48-year-old Bryza's spot on the Turcas Petrol
board is additional proof that Washington is primarily interested
in Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon riches, but could care less about the
massive human rights violations in the country.
One UK-based opposition activist told The Huffington Post that the
current proposed US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Richard Morningstar, a
former special Eurasian energy envoy, just underlines how "oil-soaked"
relations between the two countries actually are.
Morningstar has yet to secure the Senate's approval, but, if something
goes awry, it looks like the region's oil and gas sector is hiring.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65524
June 11, 2012 - 9:26am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
In case you were worrying, rest assured that Caucasus celebrity Matthew
Bryza, the never-confirmed former US ambassador to Azerbaijan, has,
according to Azerbaijani media, "found a new job." Or, as one news
outlet from Azerbaijani enemy Armenia, put it: "The Azerbaijanis
found a job for Bryza."
Bryza, a household name for everyone in (or with an interest in) the
Caucasus, left Baku in 2011 after the US Senate, with active prodding
from Armenian Diaspora lobbyists, failed to uphold his appointment
as US ambassador to Azerbaijan.
But Washington's longtime point man for the Caucasus has not gone far.
He will stay close at hand to serve on the board of directors of
Turkey's Turcas Petrol, an oil company affiliated with Azerbaijan's
state oil and gas giant, SOCAR.
In opposing Bryza's appointment to Baku, Diaspora lobbyists took strong
issue with what they claimed was his bias in Azerbaijan's favor --
a charge he hotly denied. Bryza, as a deputy advisor to the president
and secretary of state on Caspian-Basin energy policy and, later,
as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs, played a key role in pushing forward an Azerbaijan-Europe
energy corridor that bypasses Russia.
To many anti-Bryza-ites, the Turcas Petrol board post will only
appear confirmation that the career diplomat truly was one of Baku's
best buddies.
But some opponents of the Azerbaijani government have another beef.
They complain that the 48-year-old Bryza's spot on the Turcas Petrol
board is additional proof that Washington is primarily interested
in Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon riches, but could care less about the
massive human rights violations in the country.
One UK-based opposition activist told The Huffington Post that the
current proposed US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Richard Morningstar, a
former special Eurasian energy envoy, just underlines how "oil-soaked"
relations between the two countries actually are.
Morningstar has yet to secure the Senate's approval, but, if something
goes awry, it looks like the region's oil and gas sector is hiring.