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US Ambassador-Designate to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch: â€œInvolving of Armenia in the regional cooperation was the US main priorityâ€

25 June 2008 10:05 (UTC +04:00)

Hearings on the Yovanovitchâ€™s appointment were postponed for a month because of the Senatorâ€™s veto, APA US bureau reports. Its reason is the delay of answers by the diplomat to some written questions addressed by the Committee members. Senator Barbara Boxer said the Committee members would make final decision only after receiving of answers to the written questions. The questions were asked by the Committee Chairman, Senator Joseph Biden, well-known senators Robert Casey, John Kerry and presidential candidate Barack Obama and others. In his answer to the Bidenâ€™s question that wouldnâ€™t the end of the blockade and the establishment of peaceful commerce and economic linkages between Armenia, Turkey, and among the states of the South Caucasus not promote the long-term stability and prosperity of the entire region, Yovanovitch said that involving of Armenia in the regional cooperation was the US main priority. â€œThe Administration is working with Armenia to help it diversify its sources of energy supply through electricity cooperation with Georgia, and eventually, by tying Armenia into Caspian oil and natural gas infrastructure. In looking at the region as a whole, the Administrationâ€™s strategic interests are focused on several issues: the advance of freedom and democracy; security, including counterterrorism and peaceful resolution of separatist conflicts; and energyâ€. Pro-Armenian Senator Barbara Boxer asked the ambassador-designate whether she would visit with government officials from Nagorno-Karabakh if they requested such a meeting. Yovanovitch said: â€œThe U.S. Co-Chair and his staff maintain regular contact with de facto officials from Nagorno-Karabakh. Under current U.S. policy, if confirmed, I would not meet with such officials unless requested to do so by the U.S. Co-Chairâ€.