New U.S. ambassador for Armenia gets greenlight for Senate approval

A U.S. diplomat nominate moves closer to congressional approval, as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recommended Tuesday that the appointment be approved. The nod came despite intense questioning by lawmakers during her confirmation hearing.Â

Yovanovitch stuck clearly in the hearing to U.S. policy not to label as "genocide" the 1915 incidents.

Last year, the White House withdrew its nomination of career diplomat Richard Hoagland after one lawmaker blocked it in an objection to that policy. Yovanovitch must still be approved by the full Senate to fill a post that has remained vacant for two years.

Armenia, with the backing of the Diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when the Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia. Â

Photo: AA