Azernews.Az

The United States will appoint its ambassador to Armenia two years after the issue remained open. President George Bush has nominated Marie Yovanovitch to the post.
Yovanovitch currently acts as ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, according to the White House website.
Prior to her appointment as US ambassador, Yovanovitch was the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from August 2004 to May 2005. From August 2001 to June 2004, she acted as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. embassy in Kiev, Ukraine. Her previous overseas assignments include Ottawa, Moscow, London, and Mogadishu. Yovanovitch speaks Russian and French.
The ambassadorial duties in Armenia have been fulfilled by a number of US charge d'affaires since the recall of the former ambassador John Evans that had triggered a row. The measure was caused by his utterances that ran counter to Washington's stance. At a meeting with the Armenian community in California in February 2005, he said it was high time the so-called genocide of Armenians was recognized. Evans's recall caused outcry among the Armenian community of America as well as within Armenia.
Armenians say Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million people in the early 20th century, a claim strongly denied by Turkey.
President Bush further nominated Richard Hoagland for the ambassadorial post, although Armenians had been staunchly opposed to his approval due to his refusing to recognize the alleged genocide. Hoagland's approval failed to pass in US Congress several times.