U.S. hopes to deep and to strengthen the cooperation with Azerbaijan, the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mattew Bryza said told upon his arrival in Baku on Sunday, Trend News reports.

“We are sorry that the expectation of ambassador took so much time. As the saying goes, better late than never. It is an honour for me to return to Baku as the U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan. Also, I would be honoured to present my credentials to President Ilham Aliyev,” Bryza said.

“My family and I are very happy to be here. We look forward to strengthen relations between our two countries and deepen our cooperation in promoting peace, prosperity and democratic institutions”, he said.

Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza arrived in Baku on February 6.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, Matthew Bryza is a career diplomat, former Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.  In December 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama announced recess appointments, which include Matt Bryza (to Azerbaijan) and Frank Ricciardone (to Turkey). The Armenian lobby in U.S. opposed Bryza’s appointment. Bryza denies the Armenian Genocide perpetrated under Ottoman Empire in the 20th century and has an obvious pro-Azerbaijani stance on the Karabakh conflict settlement.