In the hottest diplomatic dispute facing Congress as it convenes next week, Armenian-Americans are stepping up their campaign to prevent Matthew J. Bryza from serving as U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, TheWashington Times writes.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to consider his nomination on Tuesday.

They have picked up support from Cypriot-Americans, who complain that Mr. Bryza, whose wife was born in Turkey, is biased toward Turkish positions on Cyprus.

"Mr. Bryza, with every new dodge, digs himself a deeper and deeper hole, demonstrating why he is so clearly the wrong choice to be U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.

The Cyprus Action Network of America on Monday registered its opposition to Mr. Bryza.

“Matt Bryza's troubling diplomatic record and his conflict of interest issues in regard to his bias toward Turkey's cycle of impunity and denial of Turkey's crime of genocide and Turkey's illegal invasion and occupation of Cyprus makes him an unsuitable representative in any post," it said in a statement.

Cypriot-Americans complain that Mr. Bryza refused to condemn the presence of Turkish troops in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Turkey recognizes. They also criticize Mr. Bryza for refusing to use the word "genocide" to describe the killing of Armenians by Turks in World War I, The Washington Times writes.