The US Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick

BAKU—On the day of a scheduled visit by OSCE Minsk Group US Co-chairman James Warlick to Los Angeles and Houston to meet with Armenian and Azeri communities respectively, Baku is amplifying its rhetoric against the US diplomat and urging OSCE officials to recall him.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, in remarks reported by the Azeri press has accused Warlick of one-sidedness, citing unnamed sources in Washington allegedly claiming that US diplomat “has close ties with the Armenian Diaspora in the US, which holds a strong position on the resolution of the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict.”

Azimov attempted to assert his baseless allegation by saying that “even a cursory glance at comments on social networks shows that the U.S. Co-Chair prefers to communicate more with Armenian Diaspora in the US,” according to the Azeri APA news agency.

In a Twitter post last week, Warlick stated that he was looking forward to meeting with and discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with both Armenian and Azeri communities in the US when he travels to Los Angeles and Houston.

“In general, some of his statements are provocative, with the co-chair spreading rumors about a possible escalation of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” claimed Azimov.

“We have repeatedly expressed our concern over the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group and statements of the US Co-Chair. We cannot turn a blind eye to Warlick’s actions, which reduce confidence in the Minsk Group, run contrary to the mandate of the Co-Chairs and undermine the negotiation process. All of these statements show that Warlick is consciously and deliberately taking these steps to ensure the interests of the Armenian side,” asserted Azimov.

“All of the aforementioned facts give the Azerbaijani side every reason to distrust the US Co-Chair, refuse working with him and appeal to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to recall Warlick from the post of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair,” Azimov concluded.