PENNINGTON HOPES FOR CONFIRMATION OF MARIE YOVANOVITCH AS U.S. ENVOY IN YEREVAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.06.2008 14:06 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Appointment of Ambassador is extremely important
for the Armenian-American relations, said Mr. Joseph Pennington,
the U.S. Charge d’Affairs in Armenia.
"The U.S. Embassy hopes for soonest appointment. Ms. Marie
L. Yovanovitch will be questioned by the Senate members, who are to
decide whether to confirm the designation or not. It’s a democratic
process and we hope for a positive decision," he said.
President Bush’s previous nominee as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
Richard Hoagland, was subject to two legislative holds by Sen. Bob
Menendez (D-NJ) and was ultimately withdrawn by the Administration,
following the nominee’s statements denying the Armenian Genocide.
On March 28, 2008, Bush nominated Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch to serve
as America’s next Ambassador to Armenia.
"The U.S. government – and certainly I – acknowledges and mourns
the mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and forced deportations that
devastated over one and a half million Armenians at the end of
the Ottoman Empire," new Ambassador-designate said during the June
19 hearing.
"The United States recognizes these events as one of the greatest
tragedies of the 20th century, the "Medz Yeghern" or Great Calamity,
as many Armenians refer to it. That is why every April the President
honors the victims and expresses American solidarity with the Armenian
people on Remembrance Day."
"It has been President Bush’s policy, as well as that of previous
presidents of both parties, not to use that term. The President’s
focus is on encouraging Turkish citizens to reconcile with their past
and with the Armenians. He seeks to support the painstaking progress
achieved to date. President Bush believes that the best way to honor
the victims is to remember the past, so it is never repeated, and
to look to the future to promote understanding and reconciliation
between the peoples and governments of Armenia and Turkey. A key
part of that effort is to end Armenia’s isolation in the region by
encouraging normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey
and the opening of their land border," Ms. Yovanovitch said.