Candidate for the post of US ambassador to Armenia:Our goal is to see  this country truly sovereign and free to choose its own partners

ArmInfo. "The Trump Administration and I personally acknowledge the historical facts of what took place at the end of the Ottoman Empire - of the mass  killings, the forced deportations and marches that ended 1.5 million  lives and a lot of suffering. Speaking at the Congress, Lynne Tracy,  a candidate for the post of US ambassador to Armenia, said this.

And I will, if confirmed, do everything in my power to acknowledge  and respect the losses and the suffering and commit myself to  participating in any remembrance activities," responded Tracy the  first of a series of questions, this one posed by Senator Markey, on  U.S. policy dealing with the Armenian Genocide.  Sen. Markey  responded, "It's time for us just to stand up and call it what it  was. It helps us in the future to have credibility."

In response to a question from Sen. Menendez , would she punish a  U.S. Embassy official in Armenia for an honest remembrance of the  Armenian Genocide?", Tracy responded, "Senator, I would expect that,  as with myself, we follow the policy of the Administration. And, the  policy is that we acknowledge the historical facts of the events of  1915 as a mass atrocity and that we participate in any remembrance  activities. And, I'll just say, as a senior leader in the Foreign  Service, I am always open to debate on my team. I don't punish people  for expressing their viewpoints. But, as members of the Executive  Branch, at the end of the day, we support the President's policy,"  concluded Ms. Tracy.

"This is the problem with nominees who come before us, and it's not  you particularly," followed up Sen.  Menendez. "In fact, we have a  historical reality: 1.5 million people were massacred. That's  genocide. And yet, we send an Ambassador to a country and have them  go to a memorial of a holocaust of the Armenian people and they won't  be able to call it genocide. It's pretty ironic. If we are not able  to acknowledge the past, we are destined to relive it," stressed Sen.  Menendez.

In turn, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian expressed regret in  connection with the "evasive" lexicon of the candidate for the post  of US ambassador to Armenia on the Armenian Genocide issue.   Referring to her activities in Armenia, the candidate said that  attention would be focused on three areas - fighting corruption,  strengthening civil society and supporting independent Media. 

In response to this statement, Hamparian notes that in these three  directions, Armenia has already made remarkable progress on all three  of these fronts, far outpacing neighboring Azerbaijan. According to  him, America's priority now should be leveraging Armenia's progress  to materially upgrade bilateral ties - through a Tax Treaty, Social  Security Totalization Agreement, non-stop U.S.-to Armenia flights,  trade missions, export promotion, and other mutually beneficial  initiatives.

''The overall goal of our Armenia policy remains an independent,  democratic, and prosperous Armenia, at peace with its neighbors.  Situated astride a geographic and cultural crossroads, Armenia has  always balanced competing interests, and we continue to affirm our  commitment to a sovereign Armenia, free to choose its own partners".  Tracy said.

To note, Tracy is Senior Advisor for Russia Affairs at the U.S.   State Department; Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission  at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S.  Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, She also worked in the US  diplomatic missions in Kazakhstan and Pakistan.