[1] Following a traffic incident in Moscow in which a pedestrian collided with the side door of his car, he was recalled temporarily by the US State Department, which subsequently received an official communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation that fully exonerated Bryza.

[2] From 1997 through 1998, Bryza was special advisor to Ambassador Richard Morningstar, coordinating U.S. Government assistance programs on economic reforms in Caucasus and Central Asia.

[1] In April 2001, Bryza joined the staff of the United States National Security Council as Director for Europe and Eurasia, with responsibility for coordinating U.S. policy on Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Caspian energy.

Additionally, he coordinated U.S. energy policy in the regions surrounding the Black and Caspian Seas and worked with European countries on issues of tolerance, social integration, and Islam.

[3] In August 2009, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlining the concerns of the Armenian American community regarding what he called the recent "biased remarks by Matt Bryza" the U.S. Co-Chair to the OSCE Minsk Group charged with helping to negotiate a settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.

[5] His nomination ultimately was never confirmed by the full Senate, however, and after serving as Ambassador for less than a year, Bryza left the State Department and joined the Azerbaijani government-affiliated Turcas petrol board.

[10] According to an article by Ganimat Zahid and Agil Khalil in the Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq, the then Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan, Heydar Babayev, paid for a significant portion of Bryza’s wedding in Istanbul, Turkey.

In response to questions raised during his Senate confirmation process about the potential conflict of interest between his professional work and the Caucasus-related advocacy of his wife, Caspian energy expert Zeyno Baran, Bryza, asserted: “Since January 2009, she has conducted no conferences, briefings, studies or other official work related to the South Caucasus.”[14] However, there were numerous conferences and briefings where Baran spoke or testified on the South Caucasus after January 2009.

[15] Washington Post editor Fred Hiatt, a powerful supporter of Bryza, described his departure as a "vivid example of how the larger U.S. national interest can fall victim to special-interest jockeying and political accommodation".