Most unorthodox cover

The Stepanakert-based Analyticon journal chose this photo for the cover of its May 2009 issue that focused on the 15th anniversary of Karabakh cease-fire. The issue includes my interview with former U.S. envoy to Karabakh talks Jack Maresca (see below) in Russian translation.

At first glance it looks like a water pipeline had burst somewhere on mountain road. But according to Analyticon editor Gegam Bagdasaryan the photo was taken by late Ruben Mangasarian sometime in spring 1993 at Isti-Su (Hot Springs) in Kelbajar district, where Armenian soldiers went swimming but kept guns ready just in case.

F. U.S. envoy on origins of Karabakh peace process

Maresca: “I would not have expected Karabakh cease-fire to last as long as it has”
Wartime U.S. envoy reflects on the origins of the 17-year peace process
by Emil Sanamyan
Published: Friday May 22, 2009

Washington, - Ambassador John (Jack) Maresca was the first U.S. official to directly deal with the Karabakh conflict as a special envoy between 1992 and 1994. His diplomatic career included postings as the U.S. representative to the Conference (now Organization) for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), chairperson of the delegation that negotiated the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe, and deputy head of the delegation that negotiated the Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

Following his Karabakh assignment, Mr. Maresca headed the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty-affiliated Open Media Research Institute in Prague, was vice president at Unocal, the oil company that has since merged with Chevron, and president of the Business Humanitarian Forum in Geneva.

Currently, a rector at the University for Peace, a United Nations institution in Costa Rica, Ambassador Maresca answered Washington Editor Emil Sanamyan's questions by e-mail on May 18.

Armenian Reporter: When the cease-fire in May 1994 was concluded, did you expect it to last as long as it has? Why do you think it has lasted so long?

John Maresca: No, I would not have expected it to last as long as it has, since there had previously been a number of cease-fires which did not last very long.

I am not close enough to the current situation to know why it has lasted.

Birth of the Minsk Group

AR: You were U.S. ambassador to CSCE in 1989-92. How did CSCE/OSCE first become involved in Karabakh mediation? In early 1992 the United Nations was first to dispatch its envoy, former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, to the conflict area. Why wasn't the Karabakh mandate given to the UN?

JM: Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, I pressed the CSCE to accept all the newly independent states as full members of the CSCE, on the grounds that they had already been members when they were within the USSR. Although there was some resistance to this, eventually it was accepted, and at a senior-level CSCE meeting in Prague [on January 30-31, 1992] all the newly independent states were accepted as full members.

At that same meeting it was noted that there was a conflict going on in the Caucasus region, involving newly admitted members, and the suggestion was made that the CSCE should look into it, and should host a conference to mediate a solution. The government of Belarus offered to host such a conference, which was from that moment called the "Minsk Conference."

It was agreed that a number of interested CSCE delegates would visit the region. I arranged for a U.S. Air Force plane to take us to both Baku and Yerevan, and Russia eventually provided a Russian army helicopter to take us to Stepanakert, in Nagorno-Karabakh.

AR: How did the Minsk Group come about? On what basis was its composition established? Why was a group set up rather than a CSCE envoy directly appointed? What were the Group's main accomplishments between 1992 and 1994?

JM: Although there had been agreement that there would be a peace conference in Minsk, and that there would be a visit to the region by senior representatives of the CSCE, there was no CSCE agreement on any ongoing mechanism of any kind.

Italy volunteered to chair the Minsk Conference, whenever it might take place, and nominated an Italian political figure [Mario Raffaelli] as the chairman of the Minsk Conference. On behalf of the United States, I pressed the new Italian chairman to convene an urgent negotiating process, to see if the basic issues of the conflict could be resolved and, theoretically, to prepare for the Minsk Conference.

At the Villa Madama

Under this pressure, the Italians convened a discussion session among the parties to the conflict. This took place [starting in June 1992] at the Villa Madama, a discreet conference center near Rome. It included representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh. There had to be a careful discussion of "seating arrangements" since Nagorno-Karabakh was not recognized as a sovereign state.

A few other countries volunteered to take part - notably the United States, Russia, France, Italy, Turkey, and Sweden, as observers and facilitators. This group of countries became the "Minsk Group."

There was no incentive to appoint a "special envoy." The issue was too sensitive, too far away, and possibly too hopeless for such a step, and spreading the responsibility among a number of interested countries seemed an easier way to go.

The Minsk Group's main accomplishment was to create the possibility for a cease-fire on the ground. Of course a cease-fire is not a complete or final solution, and can create a "frozen conflict," but it does at least stop the immediate bloodshed.

AR: As the first U.S. envoy involved in Karabakh talks, what resources did you draw on? Were you able to visit Karabakh itself? Without direct presence in the conflict area, what sources was the U.S. government using in trying to establish facts on the ground?

JM: Resources were limited, but I think we had pretty good information on developments. I had my own plane, supplied by the U.S. Air Force.

I visited Karabakh via Russian helicopter and/or land vehicles on several occasions, and traveled throughout Karabakh. I held discussions with the presidents, foreign ministers, and security officials in Baku, Yerevan, and Stepanakert. I also traveled to the frontier zones by vehicles on both the Armenian and the Azerbaijan sides. I was able to visit virtually any place I wanted to visit.

We also had close consultations with the Russian Foreign and Defense Ministries on what was going on in the region. Within a short time the United States established embassies in Baku and Yerevan.

AR: Following April 1993 fighting, when Kelbajar was captured, the UN Security Council passed its first resolution on the Karabakh issue. Who initiated that effort? Why were resolutions only passed in 1993 and not in 1992 when major military operations commenced? And not in 1994 when the bulk of war casualties were suffered by both sides?

JM: I was not following events in the UN. In general terms I believe there was hope that the Minsk Group could be successful, and so there was reluctance among the interested international community to "take over" the issue in another forum.

Competing interests

AR: How was your relationship with Russia's envoy for Karabakh talks at the time, Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov? Mr. Kazimirov has said that throughout the peace process, the United States was often seeking to upstage Russia.

JM: I think my relations with Kazimirov were friendly, but obviously subject to mutual suspicions. Dealing with Russia in the period following the breakup of the Soviet Union was complicated and involved a lot of sensitivities. There were times when different branches of the Russian government were not in complete coordination with each other.

AR: Mr. Kazimirov has said publicly that in September 1993 in Moscow, U.S. officials showed him a so-called "non-paper" outlining U.S. opposition to any Karabakh peace deal that could result in the introduction of Russian peacekeepers in the region. Could you provide any details on that?

JM: I don't know what "non-paper" you are referring to here. However, I never favored the use of Russian peacekeepers, since I thought Russia had its own agenda in the region.

AR: Would it be fair to say that Caspian energy was a major motivating factor for the United States to become involved in the Caucasus? Having worked both for the U.S. government and a major oil company, how do you see the interplay between government and business interests?

JM: The U.S. became involved in the Minsk Group efforts because of concerns about the conflict, including those expressed by Armenian-Americans.

When U.S. energy-resource companies became involved in the region, a little later, access to Caspian-region energy also became a consideration.

But there have always been very severe limitations on what the U.S. was able or willing to undertake in the Caucasus region.

ANCA vs. Obama; Hillary to Serge; Gordon cleared; Turkish-Azeri lobby; Putin & Erdogan

This was first published in May 23, 2009 Armenian Reporter

Washington Briefing
by Emil Sanamyan

ANCA charges Obama with “grave offense” to Armenian Americans

In a strongly worded communication, the Armenian National Committee of America's chair Ken Hachikian urged President Barack Obama to "revise the course your Administration has chosen on issues of special concern to Armenia Americans."

The May 18 letter by the largest Armenian-American advocacy organization identified President Obama's recent foreign-aid request but especially the failure to uphold his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide as "a grave offense to Armenian Americans and a disservice to all Americans."

While continuing the Bush administration's policy of deference to Turkey and avoiding the term genocide when discussing the Ottoman-Armenian experience, President Obama and his officials have sought to emphasize the importance of Armenia-Turkey talks.

Sources familiar with discussions prior to the president's April 24 statement told the Armenian Reporter that a senior administration official had argued that the statement should forego the term genocide in order not to hinder an anticipated breakthrough between Armenia and Turkey. According to the Turkish press, the United States was also behind securing the April 22 Armenian-Turkish statement announcing progress in talks.

But the ANCA argued, "ongoing dialogue between Armenia and Turkey should have no bearing on [President Obama's] willingness to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide; our stand against all instances of genocide should be unconditional."

[ANCA endorsed Mr. Obama's presidential bid in early 2008 and actively campaigned for his candidacy throughout the primary and general election.]

U.S. reassures Armenia on Turkey talks

A letter from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent to Armenian President Serge Sargsian last week reiterated U.S. support for Armenia-Turkey talks.

The letter came just as Turkish leaders again ruled out normalization of relations unless Armenia makes concessions on the Karabakh issue, and an aide to Azerbaijan's president alleged that there was no progress on that issue because the United States and other mediators had a "Christian bias" in favor of Armenia.

The United States has supported Armenia's efforts to normalize relations with Turkey quickly and without preconditions, but the administration has identified no concrete timeframe and is seeking to achieve "parallel" progress in Karabakh talks.

Asked about the letter's intent, a State Department spokesperson told the Armenian Reporter that the letter was private and he could not comment on it.

The Armenian president's office said on May 15 that the letter also dealt with bilateral relations, including U.S. aid to Armenia channeled through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, whose board is chaired by Mrs. Clinton, and stressed the importance of free and fair conduct of the May 31 elections for Yerevan city council.

State Department’s new Eurasia manager confirmed

Philip Gordon, the Obama administration's nominee for assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, was confirmed by the Senate on May 14, the Foreign Policy magazine blog The Cable reported the following morning.

According to earlier reports, Mr. Gordon's nomination was held up for over a month by Sen. John Ensign (R.-Nev.) because of Mr. Gordon's opposition to U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

According to an anonymous source cited by Greek News on May 13, Mr. Ensign decided to drop his hold, first introduced in early April, after Armenia announced it had agreed to a normalization process with Turkey in a joint April 22 statement.

Meanwhile, in response to an inquiry from Sen. Robert Menendez (D.-N.J.) as part of the confirmation process, Mr. Gordon's previous employer the Brookings Institution reported receiving more than $710,000 in funding from Turkish corporate entities since 2006. Most of the money went toward Brookings' Turkey program, run by former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris.

In responses to Mr. Menendez's written questions, also published by Greek News, Mr. Gordon studiously avoided the term genocide, while "mourning" the deaths of 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians, recalled his support for Turkey "to come to terms with its history" and improve relations with Armenia, "if Armenia shows a real commitment to a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

Mr. Gordon's responses indicated no change to U.S. policy of restricted engagement with authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh and continued U.S. humanitarian aid to its residents.

Turkey, Azerbaijan boosters hold Washington events

Hardly a week goes by in the U.S. capital without a public event intended to extol the importance of Turkey to the world. Less frequently, but also on regular basis, the Azerbaijani government's mercenaries gather to discuss ways to ingratiate that eccentric regime to the Washington establishment.

On May 14 Rep. Robert Wexler (D.-Fla.), chair of the House Europe Subcommittee and co-chair of the congressional Turkey caucus, held what has become a biannual hearing on Turkey. This time the hearing was titled, "The United States and Turkey: A Model Partnership."

The hearing brought together Ian Lesser of the U.S. German Marshall Fund, David Phillips of the Atlantic Council of the United States, and Stephen Flanagan of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who testified to the partnership's virtues.

Also on May 14, an event, "Azerbaijan and the West: Strategic Partnership at Eurasia's Crossroads," included Glen Howard and Vlad Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, a local think tank; Brenda Shaffer of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy; and Dan Fata, until recently a deputy assistant secretary of defense dealing with the Caucasus and now vice president at Cohen Group, a lobby shop run by former defense secretary Bill Cohen.

Putin meets Erdogan, indicates no change in Russia’s Karabakh policy

Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a joint press conference in Sochi, Russia, May 16, 2009.

Meeting with visiting Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian premier Vladimir Putin appeared disinclined to lean on either Armenia or Azerbaijan to attempt any kind of settlement of the Karabakh standoff. Mr. Erdogan apparently had promised to raise the issue with Mr. Putin after visiting Azerbaijan last week.

Talking to the media following their May 16 meeting in the resort town of Sochi, Mr. Putin reiterated the Russian policy language that it was up to the parties to find an agreement.

"As to the difficult problems that we inherited from the past, which includes the Karabakh problem, a compromise must be found by the conflicting parties themselves," Mr. Putin said, when asked about the issue by a Turkish journalist. "All other states that are helping achieve that compromise can only serve as mediators and guarantors of implementation of agreements [that might be] achieved."

The talks focused on the expansion of Russian natural-gas exports to Turkey and plans to build four nuclear reactors in Turkey with Russia's participation.

According to RIA Novosti, this was the eighth meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Erdogan since December 2004, with these frequent contacts reflecting an expanding bilateral relationship. The 2008 bilateral trade turnover surpassed $33 billion, with Russia replacing Germany as Turkey's largest trade partner. Turkey is in turn Russia's fifth-largest trade partner.

On top of energy, economic relations include more than $20 billion in contracts won by Turkish construction companies in Russia over the last decade and growing Russian arms sales to Turkey.

Silva Harotonian update, Rxns to Obama aid request, UN HRC vote

This was first published in May 16, 2009 Armenian Reporter

Washington Briefing
by Emil Sanamyan

U.S., family continue to call for Iranian-Armenian’s release

With Roxana Saberi, an Iranian­-American journalist released this week, the family of Iranian-­Armenian aid worker Silva ­Harotonian urged Iranian authorities to offer her clemency as well.

In a May 13 statement distributed by Fox News, Klara Moradkhan, Ms. Harotonian's American cousin, suggested that "the very basis on which Ms. Saberi was freed - Iran's recognition that it and the United States are not in a state of hostility toward one another - would support Silva's release as well under Iranian law."

Ms. Harotonian was arrested in June 2008 and was last January sentenced to a three-year prison term. The Iranian legal system is currently considering her second and final appeal. Ms. Harotonian was an administrator for a U.S.-funded maternal and children's health program, but was charged with trying to undermine the Iranian government; she was reportedly pressured to testify against herself.

U.S. officials have called charges against both Ms. Harotonian and Ms. Saberi "baseless" and have called on Iran to release them.

According to media reports this week, the case against Ms. Saberi was based mostly on a confidential document she reportedly copied while working for an Iranian government entity several years earlier. Ms. Saberi was initially sentenced to eight years in prison before being released on parole.

Members of Congress react to administration’s Armenia aid request

Reps. Frank Pallone (D.-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill.), co-chairs of the congressional Armenian caucus, said they "will work to restore funding for Armenia." Their statement came a day after the Obama administration requested aid levels that were lower than funds appropriated in Fiscal Year 2009.

"We are confident that as the [Fiscal Year 2010] appropriations process moves forward, Congress will increase economic assistance to Armenia beyond the Administration's budget proposal and will provide aid to Nagorno Karabakh," Reps. Pallone and Kirk said on May 8.

Also reacting to the request was Rep. Brad Sherman (D.-Calif.) who briefly raised the issue during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew on May 13. Mr. Sherman mentioned the issue along with several others, asking Mr. Lew for a written response.

Mr. Sherman also requested a comment on the issue from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her April 22 testimony at the committee; neither response was available as of press time.

In a March 24 letter to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee leadership, Reps. Pallone and Kirk requested an increase in U.S. aid to Armenia (see table below). The subcommittee will review the administration's proposal in the next few months.

U.S. aid programs
(in millions of dollars)

FY2010 proposals FY2009 proposals and appropriated levels
Obama & Caucus requested Bush & Caucus requested Congress appropriated

Armenia 30.0 70 24.0 70 48.0
Karabakh N/A 10 N/A 10 8.0
Armenia
military 3.5 5 3.3 5 3.5
Azerbaijan
military 4.9 0 3.9 0 3.5

Ambassador to Armenia reacts to critics of aid request

In what is likely to form the basis for the State Department's response to critics of the administration's request, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia issued a letter from Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch that reiterated America's commitment to its "longstanding partnership with Armenia."

In her letter Ms. Yovanovitch noted that President Barack Obama's request was an increase over President George W. Bush's request last year, and that "actual levels of assistance" are determined by the U.S. Congress, which has traditionally revised administration requests upward.

"With respect to funding for Nagorno­-Karabakh, there has never been a budget request sent to Congress because there is no mechanism for doing so in the budget process," the ambassador noted. "Rather, the humanitarian assistance provided to Nagorno-Karabakh is worked out afterwards, during the budget negotiation between Congress and the Administration."

Ms. Yovanovitch also noted that a somewhat larger request for military aid to Azerbaijan "is linked to U.S. priorities in peacekeeping and maritime security on the Caspian Sea" and that "they do not adversely affect the military balance" between Armenia and Azerbaijan as is stipulated by U.S. law.

The Embassy noted that nearly $2 billion in U.S. aid has been provided to Armenia since the 1988 earthquake; that amounted included $68.9 million provided in 2008.

U.S., Armenian officials hold regular consultations

In a meeting of the U.S.-Armenia Economic Task Force (USATF) on May 13, delegations led by Economics Minister Nerses Yeritsian and State Department coordinator for aid to Eurasia Dan Rosenblum "discussed advancing economic and market reforms, strengthening rule of law, and other bilateral issues," the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said in a statement.

The discussions are intended to produce an "action plan [that] helps in tailoring assistance to Armenia coming from the United States Government."

Established nine years ago, USATF held its previous meeting in Washington last November.

Azerbaijan voted out of UN body

Hungary will replace Azerbaijan at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), having won more international support for one of two vacant seats on the council. The other seat went to Russia, which like Azerbaijan was first elected to the body in 2006. In the May 12 vote, Russia won the support of 146 countries, Hungary of 131 countries and Azerbaijan of 84 countries.

"The election of Hungary, especially over Azerbaijan, a country with a poor human rights record but with considerable influence thanks to its energy resources, is something to applaud," Vladimir Shkolnikov of the U.S.-based rights group Freedom House said in a statement. For UNHRC it "is a small but important step in the right direction," he added.

Also winning a three-year term on the council was the United States, backed by 167 of the total of 192 UN members. The United States was previously ousted from UNHRC's predecessor entity - the Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) - in 2001. (Armenia was elected to UNCHR twice - in 2002 and 2005.)

The UN human rights body was shunned by the Bush Administration for criticizing Israel and for including countries like Cuba. But the Obama administration argues that U.S. concerns would be better served through membership in the council.

The Geneva-based 47-member UNHRC makes recommendations to the General Assembly on human rights issues.

Obama aid request, Lavrov in DC, Davutoglu and Knesset news

This was first published in May 9, 2009 Armenian Reporter

Washington Briefing
by Emil Sanamyan

Obama’s Armenia aid request: less than Congress, more than Bush

In his first budget proposal to Congress detailed on May 7, President Barack Obama largely continued George W. Bush's policy of requesting a reduction in U.S. assistance to Armenia.

The Obama administration requested $30 million in aid to Armenia in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, down from $48 million allocated by Congress in 2009 and $58 million in 2008. However, the request is larger than the $24 million requested by the Bush administration in January 2008 before that amount was doubled by congressional appropriators.

The request also suggested $3.45 million in military aid to Armenia and $4.9 million requested for Azerbaijan, an approach long criticized and repeatedly revised by Congress. Azerbaijan would also get $22.12 million in non-military aid, up from less than $19 million spent in 2008–9.

Congressional appropriators can significantly alter these figures later in the budget process.

Last March, co-chairs of the congressional Armenian caucus Reps. Frank Pallone (D.-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill.) already made their Armenia aid recommendations, including $70 million in economic and $5 million in military aid, and a further $10 million for Nagorno-Karabakh.

The administration also requested a total of more than $322 million in aid to Georgia. This includes $80 million in regular military and non-military aid for 2010, and the rest in 2009 supplemental assistance in furtherance of $1 billion in U.S. aid promised after Georgia's brief war with Russia.

Overall, while cutting other programs the administration requested an increase in foreign aid to a total of $36.5 billion, including more than $762 million for former Soviet republics and $1.4 billion in Millennium Challenge programs around the world.

As before, the bulk of foreign military funding will go to Israel ($2.775 billion) and Egypt ($1.3 billion). Afghanistan and Pakistan would get the biggest non-military aid packages, at $2.2 and $1.1 billion, respectively.

U.S., Russia say both want Caucasus stability, but disagree on Georgia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia met in Washington on May 7 to discuss a long list of issues on U.S.-Russia agenda. Mr. Lavrov was also received by President Barack Obama, who confirmed plans to visit Russia in July.

The meeting was preceded by a fresh row between Russia and U.S.-led NATO over the alliance's military exercise in Georgia that began this week, as well as NATO's expulsion of Russian diplomats amid allegations of spying.

At a joint press conference, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Lavrov both sought to emphasize areas of cooperation, including recently launched strategic arms reduction talks and Middle East priorities such talks with Iran and efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

Mr. Lavrov said the South Caucasus was among the issues discussed and that while the United States and Russia continued to "have obvious differences" they agreed on "need to do [their] best in order to achieve stability there."

The NATO exercise in Georgia went ahead despite reports of a mutiny in one of the Georgian military units, which the Tbilisi government claimed was attempted by military officers and former officials who had served under ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze (1992–2003).

Mr. Shevardnadze, who was ousted by current president Mikheil Saakashvili, has in recent months been criticizing his successor with increased frequency.

Following reports of mutiny, which the government said it was able to quickly diffuse by arresting dozens of suspects, opposition groups clashed with police for the first time since they launched a thus-far unsuccessful campaign to oust Mr. Saakashvili nearly a month ago.

On May 7, in a move long encouraged by the U.S. government, opposition parties issued a statement saying they were ready to meet with Mr. Saakashvili in a bid to avoid further confrontation.

Turkish government ideologue appointed foreign minister

Ahmet Davutoglu formally replaced Ali Babacan as Turkish foreign minister in a cabinet reshuffle announced on May 1. As top foreign policy advisor to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr. Davutoglu has been credited with masterminding the Turkish foreign policy that has seen Ankara become more independent of Washington and improve relations with Russia, Iran, and Syria.

Prior to joining the government in 2003, Mr. Davutoglu, was a professor of international relations at several Istanbul universities. He was born in 1959 in central Turkish city of Konya.

Mr. Davutoglu has argued that better relations with neighbors would allow Turkey to play a more prominent and independent international role rather than serve as Cold War-style Western ally.

During a visit to Washington last October Mr. Davutoglu insisted that Turkey wants "to have best relations with Armenia," and "good relations" with Armenians everywhere in the Diaspora, and that he and his government "don't see Armenia as a threat; we don't see Armenians as enemies."

Israeli Knesset revisits Armenian Genocide

"We have a moral duty to remember the killing of Armenians," a spokesperson for the rightwing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on May 6, Yediot Aharanot newspaper reported the same day.

But like his predecessors, Gilad Erdan relayed the government's opposition to commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in the Knesset, deferring to Turkey's position on the issue.

"Israel has never denied the terrible acts carried out against the Armenians," Mr. Erdan added. "And I am well aware of the intensity of the emotions given the number of victims and the suffering of the Armenian people."

The debate took place in the Knesset House Committee on the urging of veteran Knesset member Haim Oron who heads the small leftwing Meretz party and has championed the issue for years.

Interviewed by PanArmenian.Net, another supporter of Genocide affirmation in the Knesset Ze'ev Elkin suggested the time has not yet come for a formal decision by the Knesset. Since the last election, Mr. Elkin became the leader of the ruling coalition in the parliament. [See my earlier interview with him.]