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A Washington Post article has criticized a US Senate committee over failing to approve as US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza, the White House nominee whose final approval has been stalled due to the opposition of several pro-Armenian senators claiming his pro-Azerbaijani bias.

In the article, titled "When special interests block national interest", Fred Hiatt reminded that "the well-qualified diplomat President Barack Obama sent to serve as ambassador to Azerbaijan will have to come home in less than a month", as his candidacy has not been put on voting.

"In the great modern novel of Washington dysfunction, this is a small subplot," says Hiatt’s article, released on Monday. "But the failing nomination of Matthew Bryza, out of public view and without so much as a committee vote, offers a vivid example of how the larger U.S. national interest can fall victim to special-interest jockeying and political accommodation."

Hiatt believes that the issue stems not from Azerbaijan, an oil-rich, predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea, but its neighbor and bitter rival: oil-poor, predominantly Christian Armenia, which has a population of 3 million, three times less than that of Azerbaijan.

The article says that Armenia was expected to be "a post-Soviet success story". But the past 20 years have brought disappointment: "a government that is democratic more in form than substance and a corrupt, under performing economy". Armenia is the 141st poorest country in the world, with a per capita income of $5,700, the Washington Post columnist wrote.

Hiatt said one reason for the sub-par performance has been Armenia’s inability to settle grievances with neighboring Azerbaijan and Turkey. He wrote further, "The cold peace has exacerbated the ill effects of being landlocked and left Armenia to the not-so-tender embraces of Vladimir Putin’s Russia."

"And one reason peacemaking has failed is the dogmatism of some diaspora groups that can enjoy, from afar, the luxury [and fundraising magic] of sustained grievance. A fervent, at times even counterproductively so, diaspora is not unique — ask Cuba, Israel or Latvia — but it has been particularly debilitating for minuscule, resource-poor Armenia.

"This is the context for the campaign against Bryza, deemed insufficiently hostile to Armenia’s enemies by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and two Democratic senators with Armenian American constituencies, Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and Robert Menendez (N.J.)," the article says.

When Obama first nominated Bryza in 2010, Boxer and Menendez put a "hold" on his nomination, preventing a Senate vote. Obama sent Bryza to Baku with a recess appointment and renominated him in January.

"The two Democrats continued to oppose him — never mind his performance on the job. Consequently, the administration never pushed for him. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, never scheduled a hearing. Meanwhile, the administration pushed hard for ambassadorial appointments with Republican opponents."

The article says that arguments against Bryza have included "his opposition to [U.S.] recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey", made by Menendez, his failure to speak out forcefully against Azerbaijan, a claim by Boxer, and supposed conflicts involving his Turkish-born, U.S. citizen wife, also a foreign policy expert (ANCA). Opponents said, though, that their opposition had "absolutely nothing to do with the ethnic origin of his wife," as Menendez said.

"Their doubts about Bryza are not widely shared," Hiatt continued. "On the contrary, 36 foreign policy luminaries, including former undersecretaries of state Thomas Pickering and Nicholas Burns, released a letter last week calling Bryza an ‘exemplary’ ambassador who has served ‘with distinction’."

"He has the right combination of everything — contacts, trust, strategic vision, operational ability, leadership — everything," they wrote, according to the article.

The letter points out that "holding up a qualified career nominee who is already serving in a key position will not change U.S. policy, and does a disservice to U.S. interests in a critical region".

Hiatt said Bryza has been promoting dialogue between the Azerbaijani government and civil society, which will be "set back" if his candidacy is not approved.

He wrote further that Bryza has been promoting reconciliation with Armenia as well. If Azerbaijan sees that the Armenian lobby, and two out of 100 senators, have veto power, it is unlikely to trust in the neutrality of the next envoy, the article said.

Hiatt said in conclusion that "the biggest losers in all this won’t be Americans or Azerbaijanis", who enjoy about twice the per capita income of Armenians, but Armenians — poor, isolated and once again victims of a power play that has nothing to do with their well-being.