U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirms Lynne Tracy’s candidacy in post of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has confirmed today the candidacy of ambassadorial nominee Lynne Tracy in the post of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Foreign Relations Committee representative told the Voice of America.

The candidacy has been nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump.

At the hearings last week the ambassadorial nominee, in response to the questions of Senators Ed Markey and Bob Menendez stressed  that she considers it necessary to expand relations with Armenia on all the levels.

“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,” she said in her statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In her words the United States must continue assistance "that has made a lasting impact on Armenia’s economic development and democratic transition by supporting anti-corruption initiatives, civil society, independent media, private sector productivity, regional integration, and efforts to counter malign influence." 

Referring to  Senator Menendez’s question about recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Tracy said, “The horrific events of 1915, the Meds Yeghern or Great Calamity, when 1.5 million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, must never be forgotten. As President Trump stated on Armenian Remembrance Day this year, “As we honor the memory of those who suffered, we [must] ensure that such atrocities are not repeated.”  If confirmed, I pledge to do everything in my power to remember the Meds Yeghern victims and uphold that solemn commitment."