June 7, 2007 - 21:48 AMT
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia to be appointed when his candidacy is approved by Senate
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia will be appointed when the Senate approves his candidacy, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza stated to a press conference in Yerevan. He said, candidacy proposed by President George Bush remains unchanged. He is Richard Hoagland. "I hope the procedure in the Senate will pass successfully," he said.

U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations twice has blocked Richard Hoagland's candidacy as U.S. Ambassador to Yerevan. Both times senator from New Jersey Robert Menendez used his veto power. He stated, a man who denied the Armenian Genocide cannot protect U.S. interests in Armenia. At the hearings in Senate Commission Hoagland stated that he recognizes events of 1915 but does not consider them as Genocide.