I have no information according to which the Government of the Republic of Armenia played any role in the circulation of the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide in the US House of Representatives and its adoption. This is what publisher and editor of California Courier Harut Sassounian told 168.am.

 

“I have no information according to which the Government of the Republic of Armenia played any role. This is surprising since the Armenian Genocide concerns all Armenians in Armenia and the Diaspora, but the Government of Armenia hasn’t participated in or had anything to do with the lobbying efforts in the United States for years, yet the Turks have always lobbied.

 

The Turkish ambassador has personally been very active. Yesterday he sent another letter to the members of the House of Representatives recommending that they vote against the resolution. From time to time, even Turkish Members of Parliament have attended the sessions of Congress and have even given speeches, but no government official from Armenia has participated or played any role.

 

I can’t say the same about Armenian Americans since they have participated with great excitement, sending letters to Congressmen and visiting them. The Armenian National Committee of America and the Armenian Assembly of America have lobbied for weeks to have this resolution passed. So, quite a lot of work has been done. If it were only up to the Congress, it would simply pass a law on sanctions. It wouldn’t even deal with the Armenian Genocide resolution, if it wasn’t for the active Armenian community,” he said.

 

Touching upon the changes in the Armenian-American agenda following the domestic political changes that took place in Armenia, Harut Sassounian said the following:

 

“I don’t really see very big changes. When the revolution had just ended, the Americans viewed them as positive, but they didn’t go any further. I’m certain that Armenia’s foreign minister is actively establishing ties and is trying to do everything possible to intensify US-Armenia ties. The Armenian government is trying to arrange the meeting of Trump and Prime Minister Pashinyan, but the problem is with the US government, which is so busy that it doesn’t have time for Armenia. However, the US attaches importance to peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, is an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair and is making efforts to make sure a war doesn’t break out again.”