WASHINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, was appointed to serve as the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations.
Volker, who had previously served as director for European and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council, will be responsible for advancing U.S. efforts to achieve the objectives set out in the Minsk agreements, said the State Department in a statement.
Volker will accompany U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Kiev, Ukraine on Sunday and is expected to continue to hold regular meetings with Ukraine and other members of the Normandy Format, namely Russia, Germany and France, the statement added.
"Kurt's wealth of experience makes him uniquely qualified to move this conflict in the direction of peace," said Tillerson in the statement, adding that the United States remains fully committed to the objectives of the Minsk agreements.