Richard Hoagland to Become Interim OSCE Minsk Group U.S. Co-Chair

Hoagland—Longtime Armenian Genocide Denier—to Replace James Warlick

YEREVAN (A.W.)—The United States Embassy in Yerevan announced on Dec. 30 that Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland will be replacing James Warlick as the U.S. Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group on an interim basis.

The embassy also announced that Warlick’s permanent replacement will be announced at a future date.

Below is the full statement released by the U.S. Embassy.

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Ambassador Hoagland brings over 30 years of diplomatic experience to the position.  He served as U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan from 2003 to 2006, U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan from 2008 to 2011, and as Deputy Ambassador to Pakistan from 2011 to 2013.  Ambassador Hoagland most recently led U.S.-Russian military coordination for the Cessation of Hostilities in Syria and served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the State Department in Washington.  Prior to these assignments, Ambassador Hoagland led the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs in the Bureau of Europe and Eurasian Affairs and was Press Spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

Ambassador Hoagland’s extensive diplomatic experience will be critical as the United States works with the sides toward a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh/NKR) conflict.  The United States continues to call on the parties to maintain their commitment to the ceasefire and to implement agreements reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits, and urges a return to negotiations on a settlement, which would benefit all sides.

The permanent replacement for Ambassador Warlick will be announced at a future date