Khachatourian: Washington Post Blinded by Love Affair with Bryza

The Washington Post’s editorial page editor, Fred Hiatt, took a page out of the Aliyev propaganda manual in his Sunday piece (“When special interests block national interest,” the Washington Post, Dec. 18) about U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza and how the Armenian lobby (“special interests”) is blocking Bryza’s appointment despite his alleged qualifications for [...]

Khachatourian: NYT’s Shameful Breach of Standards

In a page four article in the June 1 edition of New York Times, titled “‘Frozen Conflict’ Between Azerbaijan and Armenia Begins to Boil,” Moscow bureau chief Ellen Barry describes in detail makeshift and government-sanctioned sniper schools teaching Azeri youth the fine art of sniper fire to fight Nagorno-Karabakh.

Could it be that Azeri Foreign Minister [...]

Khachatourian: Implications of Sudan’s Referendum

In five months, a new country will join the world community. Official results indicate that 98.9 percent of the population in Southern Sudan approved to secede from the north to create a new country.
What most observers feared would cause more violence during the referendum process concluded seamlessly and created a new country based on a [...]

Khachatourian: Attack on Boxer by WSJ Smells of Oil Lobby

The Wall Street Journal’s Sept. 20 attack piece on Senator Barbara Boxer and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), which it characterized as a group with “tribal Caucasian obsessions,” is the last ditch effort by oil industry executives and the pro-Azerbaijan lobby to save the deeply flawed nomination of U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan designate [...]

Khachatourian: Bryza’s Response to Confirmation Inquiries Again Mislead Senators

In response to questions raised during his Senate confirmation process about the potential conflict of interest between his professional work and the Caucasus-related advocacy of his wife, Caspian energy expert Zeyno Baran, Matthew Bryza, the U.S. Ambassador-designate to Azerbaijan, asserted that: “Since January 2009, she has conducted no conferences, briefings, studies or other official work [...]

Khachatourian: Boxer’s Strong Record on Armenian Issues Has Long History

Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) the decision to delay Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s consideration of Matt Bryza’s controversial nomination as U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan is the latest chapter in a 20-year history to ensure a balanced U.S. policy toward the Caucasus region that respects the right of the people of Karabagh to self-determination.

Sen. Barbara Boxer

Her years [...]

Khachatourian: Bryza’s ‘Groomsman’ Was Mammadyarov: Conflict or Convenience?

Last week at the Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearings, President Obama’s nominee for the U.S. ambassadorial post in Azerbaijan, Matthew Bryza, assured Senators that he would be impartial if confirmed to the top U.S. post in Baku and always serve U.S. interests.
The Azeri elite and the U.S. Azerbaijani community are elated at Obama’s choice of [...]

Khachatourian: Azerbaijan’s Carte Blanche to Destroy Monuments

We have extensively criticized Armenia’s foreign policy and diplomatic efforts vis-à-vis the protocols and the Karabagh conflict resolution process, but a small news item last week prompts us to warn that someone’s asleep at the wheel again.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, voted to admit Azerbaijan on its body that oversees the [...]