U.S. senators should thoroughly question President Obama’s nominee John Heffern to serve as Ambassador to Armenia to learn his position on a number of regional issues, spokesperson for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Elizabeth Chouldjian told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“There are many questions to ask: the Armenian Genocide, the Karabakh issue, Armenian-American relations, and so on. They should clarify Mr. Heffern’s position on these problems,” she said.

Earlier ANCA appealed to the members of the Foreign Relations Committee to question Ambassador-Designate Heffern about his qualifications and candidacy for this important diplomatic position.

“Based on his answers, members of the Armenian-American community must express their views whether Mr. Heffern is suitable to represent American values ​​in Armenia,” she added.

Chouldjian stressed that Heffern had not openly expressed his views on the issues related to Armenia so far.

“His work has not given reason to express his views on the Armenian Genocide, Karabakh, Armenian-American relations. Trade turnover between Armenia and U.S. presently totals about $180 million, we want to bring it to $1 billion. I wonder what steps ambassadorial candidate should take to strengthen economic relations between the two countries. During tomorrow’s hearing, he will first voice his opinion on these issues, and it is important that the Senators asked him the right questions,” said spokesperson for ANCA.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider President Obama’s nomination of John Heffern to serve as Ambassador to Armenia during a hearing on July 13, at 3:00 p.m. The hearing will be webcast live on the panel’s website.