US Fed News
August 3, 2007 Friday 2:10 AM EST

ADMINISTRATION WITHDRAWS ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR NOMINEE, SEN. MENENDEZ
WELCOMES NEWS

WASHINGTON

The office of Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., issued the following
statement:

The Bush Administration announced today that it has withdrawn the
nomination of Richard Hoagland for the position of Ambassador to
Armenia. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee who had placed a hold on the nomination,
released the following statement:

"This is certainly welcome news," said Menendez. "The Bush
Administration did a terrible disservice to the Armenian people and
Armenian Americans when they removed our previous Ambassador to
Armenia simply because he recognized the Armenian genocide. It was
clear that their nominee to fill his place was controversial. I hope
that our next nominee will bring a different understanding to this
issue and foster a productive relationship with our friends in
Armenia."