John Evans: I do not retract my words on the 1915 Armenian genocide

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 1 2006

[ 01 Sen. 2006 11:19 ]

`I assessed the 1915 `Young Turkish' government's actions against Armenians as genocide and I do not retract this statement,' said John Evans, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Armenia, APA reports.

Holding his last press conference in Yerevan before leaving for the US, Evans stressed that his position regarding the so-called Armenian genocide remains unchanged.

He said he has received a `nice note' from Bush that thanked him for his work in Armenia. He also commended Bush's choice of the next U.S. ambassador to Yerevan, Richard Hoagland, as a `consummate professional.'

Evans was recalled from Armenia on March 7 this year. The reason for that is believed to be his statement that Armenians suffered genocide in the Ottoman Empire `The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century,' Evans had declared during a February 2005 meeting with Armenian-American activists in California. But later on seeing this statement caused a serious dissatisfaction, Evans told a press conference that his words were unofficially stated which do not represent official position of his state. `This expression belongs to me only not a politician. But I must say this was not uttered on time,' he said.

Richard Hoagland, currently the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan, has been confirmed by the U.S Senate as a new ambassador to Armenia. /APA/