Responding to the pro-Armenian U.S. Congressman Robert Menendez’s request to state his point of view of the Armenian Genocide, Francis Ricciardone, the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey nominees, designated the 1915 events as a massacre.

The U.S. still calls for ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, Francis Ricciardone stated at the U.S. Senate hearing. According to him, the issues of Armenia, Cyprus, Iran and Afghanistan were the focus of the U.S. diplomatic mission’s attention when he worked in Turkey.

Turkish mass media report a tense atmosphere at the hearings due to questions concerning Turkish-Greek relations.