US envoy says Armenian “genocide” remarks his personal opinion

Mediamax news agency
28 Feb 05

Yerevan, 28 February: The United States embassy in Armenia today
disseminated a statement of Ambassador John Evans regarding his remarks
about the Armenian genocide and the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict made during his recent meetings with the Armenian communities
in the United States.

“Although I told my audiences that the United States’ policy on
the Armenian genocide has not changed, I used the term ‘genocide’
speaking in what I characterized as my personal capacity. This was
inappropriate,” the statement by John Evans reads.

[Passage omitted: details of Evans’ speech in USA]

The statement of John Evans disseminated in Yerevan today reads that
“the US president’s annual statement on Armenian Remembrance Day
articulates US policy on this matter”.

“My government acknowledges the tragedy that befell the Armenian
community in Anatolia during the last years of the Ottoman Empire. We
have been actively encouraging scholarly, civil society and diplomatic
discussion of the forced killing and exile of Armenians in 1915. We
have also encouraged economic and political dialogue between the
governments of Armenia and Turkey in order to help all parties come
to terms with these horrific events,” the statement reads.