Richard Hoagland is temporarily substituting OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair James Warlick since January 2017. The US Embassy to Armenia notified this ahead of the Christmas holidays, noting that Ambassador Hoagland’s large and extensive diplomatic experience will have an essential importance in the tasks of the United States with the parties pertaining to the lasting and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
However, in connection with Hoagland, the political scientists have expressed serious concerns recalling that back in 2006, he had been nominated by the 43 US President George W. Bush as a candidate to the US ambassador to Armenia, however, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee had blocked this candidacy on the ground that Hoagland denies the fact of Armenian Genocide and must not present the US interests in Armenia. And now, in fact, the same Hoagland is nominated a Minsk Group US co-chair. In this regard, Aravot.am talked to Giro Manoyan, responsible for the Armenian Cause of the ARF Bureau and Political Affairs.
Giro Manoyan
To our question of whether there is no opportunity now to block the approval of his candidacy in the OSCE Minsk Group, given to his posture on the Armenian Genocide issue, Giro Manoyan replied, “No, there is no more issue of approval for the Minsk Group co-chair Ambassador has no problem to be approved, as an Ambassador. Therefore, there is no such process, in other words, he is appointed and he will assume this position without any approval.” We clarified whether no intervention is possible to do now, Giro Manoyan replied, “No. ANCA has issued a directive saying that despite we were against it at that time, however, as a co-chair, it’s true, he will have a positive influence on the settlement of the Karabakh issue.
We reminded that years ago, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has set a veto, for example, on the pro-Azerbaijani position diplomat Matthew Bryza’s candidacy when he was nominated for the position of the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan. To our observation that the politicians nursed a hope that this time too, the Armenian National Committee of America and the pro-Armenian lobby would boycott Richard Hoagland, the US Senate will not agree with the approval of his candidacy, Giro Manoyan responded, “The issue of appointing an Ambassador is different, while this is different. In the former case, it is possible to intervene, in other words, the intervention lies in the fact that a member of the Senate can initiate something but in this case, there is no such opportunity. What they mean by saying to boycott Hoagland, I do not know, because I do not think that Hoagland will be excited with the boycott. No such thing is planned, especially since Hoagland is appointed temporarily.”
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