NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN IN TWO WEEKS
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.07.2006 12:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Richard Hoagland will arrive in Yerevan immediately
after the formal appointment, that is in some two weeks, U.S. Co-chair
of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza told Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper.
"Hoagland is a very attentive person and he is perfectly aware of
the history of the Caucasus. As for incumbent Ambassador Evans,
he is an excellent personality and Ambassador. It’s not true to sat
that he is recalled and even removed from diplomatic service," Bryza
said. "Ambassadors serve the President and they are obliged to follow
his policy. President’s Bush policy as regards the mass killings of
Armenians is precise and he mentions it in his annual statement.
Certainly if somebody doesn’t agree with the president’s policy,
he can take his own decisions, however they should not be announced
publicly. We all serve the President and our job is to contribute to
his policy. We should also give him advice but when matter concerns
public statements we should support the President’s policy,"
Bryza said.
To note, Amb. Evans’ recall is said to be caused by his statement
on the Armenian Genocide. February 19, 2005, during his public
presentation at the University of California, Berkeley, hosted by
Armenian Studies Program Executive Director, Prof. Stephan Astourian,
Evans announced, "I will today call it the Armenian Genocide." The
Ambassador, who has studied Russian History at Yale and Columbia
universities and Ottoman History at the Kennan Institute, argued that,
"we, the US government, owe you, our fellow citizens a more frank
and honest way of discussing this problem.
Today, as someone who’s studied it… There’s no doubt in my mind
what happened."