NEWLY APPOINITED U.S. CHARGE D’AFFAIRES TO ARMENIA TAKES OFFICE

YEREVAN, 10 July. /ARKA/. The newly appointed US Charge D’Affaires to Armenia, Rudolph Perina, assumed office on Tuesday, succeeding Anthony Godfrey. The press service of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia reports that Perina’s deep knowledge, his experience in Armenia and professional ties with the Armenian officialdom will contribute to the continuation of bilateral relations.

According to the press service, Perina will not stay long in office, as the issue of appointing a new U.S. Ambassador to Armenia still remains topical. President Bush keeps on endorsing Ambassador Richard Hogland’s candidacy of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.

Despite Ambassador’s public denial of recognizing the Armenian massacres in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, President Bush offered the U.S. Congress to affirm Ricahrd Hogland’s candidacy.

In September 2006, the polling of the U.S. Congress on the issue of affirming Richard Hogland’s candidacy was suspended, thanks to the joint efforts of the Armenian lobby and Senator Robert Menendez.

Тhe Armenian community in the U.S.A. is against Hogland’s candidacy, as he refrained from recognizing the Armenian genocide in 1915 in the Ottoman Turkey.

During his diplomatic career, Rudolph Perina held various high posts. From 1993 to 1996 he was U.S. Ambassador to Belgrade, from 1996 to 1997 was Senior Adviser to U.S. Deputy Secretary for Europe and Canada.

From 1998 to 2001 Perina was a co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh and Eurasian conflicts, and from 2004 to 2005 was Deputy Director of State Secretary in the Strategic Planning Department. --0—