APPOINTMENT OF U.S. AMBASSADOR DELAYED

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 23, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The appointment of Marie Yovanovich as
U.S. ambassador to Armenia is delayed due to the necessity to answer
the written questions submitted to her, the U.S. Charge D’Affaires
Joseph Pennington informed reporters on June 23. According to him,
during the discussion at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
the day before, M. Yovanovich answered many questions, but several
senators presented written questions to her and the discussion will
continue after she gives answers to these questions. In J. Pennington’s
words, it is the Senate’s competence to approve the appointment of
the ambassador, and such discussion is normal and makes part of the
democratic processes in the U.S.

"We hope that the candidacy of Ambassador Yovanovich will be
approved, and she will arrive in Yerevan as soon as possible,"
J. Pennington said. He underlined that the appointment of ambassdor
is of great importance for Armenian-US relations. He failed to say
if M. Yovanovich’s position on the issue of the Armenian Genocide
will affect approval her candidacy as ambassador to Armenia.

It is noteworthy that when speaking about massacres of 1.5 million
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the indicated discussion at the
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, M. Yovanovich said that the
Armenians call these massacres the Great Genocide. In her words, the
U.S. administration understands that in the opinion of many Amercians,
such events should be called genocide.