New U.S. ambassador for Armenia approved by Senate
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet English with wires
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: AÄŸustos 02, 2008 12:59
The U.S. Senate confirmed the Bush administration's nominees as ambassadors to Armenia after a delay by lawmakers who were unhappy with Marie Yavonavitch's refusal to accept so-called "genocide" claims.
Haberin Devamı
Armenian-American groups sought to force the adminsitration to change its policy on the 1915 incidents.
Yovanovitch stuck clearly in the hearing to U.S. policy not to label the incidents as "genocide".
Last year, the White House withdrew its nomination of career diplomat Richard Hoagland after one lawmaker blocked it in an objection to that policy. The post had remained vacant for two years.
Armenia, with the backing of the Diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when the Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.Â