The new US Secretary of State John Kerry has taken office by receiving the approval of the US Congress. During the confirmation process of the Congress, the new Secretary of State has been obliged to respond to one-sided and misleading Armenian allegations. In his answers to the biased questions posed by two senators speaking on behalf of the Armenian allegations, the new Secretary has shed light to the policy he would pursue with the following views and remarks:

“If confirmed as Secretary of State, my duty would be to represent the policies of the President and Administration faithfully. As the President has emphasized in his April 24th Remembrance Day statements, the achievement of a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts of what occurred in 1915 is in all our interests. He also has said that the best way to advance that goal is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the past as a part of their efforts to move forward. The United States is encouraging Turkey at the highest levels to engage productively with Armenia on the normalization protocols, to open the border, to reinstitute transportation, communication, and utility links between the two countries, and to re-establish diplomatic relations. If confirmed, I will continue to strongly support all efforts to normalize bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey so that together, they can forge a relationship that is peaceful, productive, and prosperous”.

“The United States believes that full normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia is important not only for the future of both countries, but for long-term stability and security in the Caucasus. Normalization between Turkey and Armenia remains a prominent feature of our dialogue with both countries. Secretary Clinton and other senior officials consistently

raise the protocols with Turkish leaders at the highest levels, and if confirmed as Secretary, I will ensure that the State Department continues to do so”.

The new Secretary’s views and statements seem to have disappointed the Armenian Diaspora in the US. With a self-indulgent perception and wishful thinking produced by the work of a monopolistic, one-sided lobby, the cliché that the new Secretary has been supporting Armenian allegations for almost thirty years has not been able to stand against the facts, reality and principled attitude. In response to the statements of the new Secretary, director of the organization called ANCA, which asserts that it represents American citizens of Armenian origin, has even had the perversity to accuse the new Secretary of following in President Obama’s footsteps.

The views and statements of the new Secretary concerning the Armenian allegations and Turkey-Armenia relations bear the responsibility of a statesman and are rational and constructive. However, as could be seen in the reactions of the diaspora representatives, living in his country and having US citizenship, expressed without delay with all their prejudices and bigotry, his task is not easy. The US ability to be convincing and constructive in its policy towards Turkey-Armenia relations to a certain degree depends on being able to put its own house into order.