White House has not named next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia yetMarch 28, 2008 - 15:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The White House has not named the next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia yet, U.S. charge d'affairs Joseph Pennington told a news conference today. "According to the appointment procedure, the White House forwards the designation to the Senate, which approves or disapproves it after a hearing held with participation of the nominee," Mr Pennington said. Earlier, The California Courier publisher Harut Sassounian said the Bush Administration has submitted to the Armenian government the name of Marie L. Yovanovitch (currently serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic) as the next Ambassador to Armenia, according to several Armenian and American reliable sources. An earlier attempt to nominate Amb. Richard Hoagland to replace Amb. Evans was blocked by Sen. Robert Menendez (Dem.-N.J.), to protest the dismissal of Amb. Evans and to object to Amb. Hoagland's poor choice of words in responding to Senators' questions on the validity of the Armenian Genocide. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |