Baku worried over Obama nomination of state secretary

tert.am
20:26 – 22.12.12

US President Barack Obama’s decision to nominate the head of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee as a secretary of state has sparked concerns
in the Azerbaijani media.

Referring to the Armenian National Committee of America’s (ANCA)
recent statement hailing the move, Contact.az calls John Kerry an `old
supporter of the Armenian Cause’. The website notes that the statement
reflects the US authorities’ desire to collaborate with the senator on
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and efforts to ensure the
security of Nagorno-Karabakh. It further describes Kerry as one of the
US legislators who backed an amendment to Article 907 of the Freedom
Support Act, which restricted the US assistance to Azerbaijan.

Over the recent years, Kerry actively acted in favor of the Armenian
Genocide recognition by the US Congress and was a co-author of many
resolutions concerning the issue. But he also endorsed Mathew Bryza as
a candidate of the US ambassador to Azerbaijan. On September 5, he
slammed the Azerbaijani leader’s decision to pardon Ramil Safarov, the
Azerbaijani lieutenant who was sentenced for life in Hungary for
axe-killing the Armenian officer, Gurgen Margaryan.

The news agency Turan has sought opinions in this connection, but the
Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington has reportedly refrained from giving
any comment. A former US ambassador in Baku, Richard Kozlarich, called
for waiting for a statement by the US government. He emphasized that
Kerry is from the State of Massachusetts which has a big Armenian
community, in the meantime noting that he will cease representing a
specific group of the US population as a secretary of state,

Regnum news agency refers to Kerry’s earlier statement in which the US
Senator said Azerbaijan should be `thrown under bus’ for its poor
human rights record.

The Turkish ZAMAN characterizes Kerry as an `old and reliable partner
of the Armenian lobby’.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress