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US Amb uses "Genocide" and says NK Can't be Given Back to Azerbaijan

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  • US Amb uses "Genocide" and says NK Can't be Given Back to Azerbaijan

    AMBASSADOR EVANS USES TERM `GENOCIDE' AND SAYS `KARABAKH CAN'T BE GIVEN BACK TO AZERBAIJAN'

    Azg/arm
    2 March 05


    In Armenia Evans Expresses `His Personal Capacity'

    On February 19, John Evans, US ambassador to Armenia, used the term
    "genocide" touching upon the massacre of the Armenians carried out in
    the early 20th century in the Ottoman Empire, in the course of the
    meeting with Armenian-American community members at Berkley
    University, CA. He also added that "Everybody realizes that Karabakh
    can't be given back to Azerbaijan."

    On February 28, US Embassy to Armenia issued the comments of John
    Evans on the abovementioned statement. "Although I told my audience
    that the United States policy on the Armenian tragedy has not changed,
    I used the term "genocide" speaking in what I characterized as my
    personal capacity. This was inappropriate," he said.

    It's worth reminding that since 1981 ambassador Evans was the
    firstAmerican official that publicly characterized Turkish atrocities
    as "genocide." Before that, in 1981, Ronald Reagan, US ex-president,
    used the term "genocide."

    "My government acknowledges the tragedy that befell the Armenian
    community in Anatolia during the last years of the Ottoman Empire. We
    have been actively encouraging scholarly, civil society and diplomatic
    discussion of the forced killing and exile of Armenians in 1915. We
    have also encouraged economic and political dialogues between the
    governments of Armenia and Turkey in order to help all parties come to
    terms with these horrific events," Evans said.

    It was also emphasized in the statement that "The President's annual
    statement on Armenian Remembrance Day articulates US policy on this
    matter." It's worth mentioning that each year on April 24, on behalf
    of US President, theWhite House spreads a statement that characterizes
    the murder of 1 and half a million of Armenians as "horrible
    massacres" and with terms like that, but the term "genocide" is never
    used.

    Ambassador Evans said, in particular, that he had also consulted with
    a State Department lawyer who confirmed that the events of 1915 were
    genocide by definition, during the meeting with the Armenian-American
    community members, on February 19. In the course of the same meeting,
    the Ambassador confirmed that the Turkish-American relations got worse
    during the recent years.

    As for Nagorno Karabakh, Ambassador Evans said in the statement: "The
    US government supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and
    holds that the future status of Nagorno Karabakh is a matter of
    negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In the end of the
    statement Evans said: "I deeply regret any misunderstanding caused by
    my comments."

    Regnum agency informed that Hafiz Pashaev, Azerbaijan's ambassador to
    the US, discussed the statement made by Evans during the meeting with
    the Armenian-American community with the US officials, particularly,
    with Laura, Deputy US Assistant Secretary of State for European and
    Eurasian Affairs. They assured the Azeri ambassador at the US State
    Department that the US supports the territorial integrity of
    Azerbaijan and doesn't acknowledge NagornoKarabakh and its government.

    The US is the only state together with Armenia that allocates
    humanitarian assistance from its state budget for Nagorno Karabakh. In
    2005 this humanitarian assistance will amount to $3 billion.

    Steve Pick, official representative of US State Department, mentioned:
    "The statements made by John Evans should be considered as personal
    viewpoint expressed during a private meeting. They do not reflect the
    official position of the US"

    In fact, Ambassador Evans and the US State Department do not deny the
    statements the American ambassador made in California during the
    meeting with the Armenian-American community.

    By Tatoul Hakobian
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