YEREVAN. – US Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern expressed a regret over official Yerevan’s statement in connection with the recent referendum in Crimea.

“I regret that Armenia made its statement on the referendum in Crimea,” Heffern stated at an international conference being held in capital city Yerevan.  

He noted that both NATO and the United States tried to find peaceful ways to settle the crisis, but Russia did not heed their proposals.

As reported earlier, the Armenian and Russian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin had a telephonic conversation on Wednesday. They touched upon the situation created after the referendum in Crimea, and noted this as another example of the exercising of the people’s right to self-determination through free expression of will. They also underscored the importance of following international norms and principles, and first and foremost, the UN Charter.