SENATOR MENENDEZ WARNS TO BLOCK BUSH’S NEW PICK FOR AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.04.2008 16:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who two years
ago blocked the nomination of Richard Hoagland for U.S. ambassador
to Armenia, said he will do the same if President George W. Bush’s
new ambassadorial nominee also fails to use proper wording for the
Armenian Genocide

The United States has not been not represented in the Armenian capital
at the ambassadorial level since May 2006 when Bush fired John Evans,
who used the term ‘genocide,’ to describe the massacre of Armenians
at the hands of Ottoman Turkey in 1915-1923.

In March, Bush nominated Marie L. Yovanovitch, another career diplomat,
for Yerevan, Turkish Daily News reports.

Senator Menendez made it clear that he believes the U.S. ambassador
to Yerevan should characterize the killings as Genocide.

"I intend to ask the same tough questions to the designate as her
confirmation process reaches the Senate," Menendez said. "I hope
Ms. Yovanovitch would respond to the questions in a satisfactory
way. If not, I will not hesitate to place a hold."

Meanwhile, the Turkish newspaper mentions that still "if Yovanovitch
by any chance says ‘genocide,’ then Washington will get into deep
trouble with Turkey."