Ambassador Francis Ricciardone has received the US Senate's approval to continue to serve as the United States' top envoy in Ankara.
President Barack Obama's nominee won a contested vote within the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
President Obama used a a rarely exercised mechanism called a “recess appointment” to bypass the Senate last December, after failing to get Foreign Relations Committee approval for Ricciardone's appointment. The ambassador took up his post in Ankara in January.
To remain in effect, a recess appointment must be approved by the Senate by the end of the next session of Congress or the position becomes vacant again, hence the Foreign Relations Committee's latest vote.
Voting against the Ricciardone nomination were Democratic Senators Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer and Republican Senator Jim Risch.
Armenian American organizations had campaigned against Ricciardone's appointment.
"We would like to thank Senator Menendez for his principled leadership in calling attention to Ambassador Ricciardone's offensive and unacceptable responses to questions dealing with the plight of Christians in Turkey," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, Tert.am reported.
"Senator Menendez along with Senators Boxer and Risch sent a powerful message to Mr Ricciardone and State Department officials - that the American people deserve a US envoy who will fight hard for US values and interests - not succumb to Turkey's propaganda machine."
Senator Menendez, who spoke forcefully prior to voting against the nominee, noted Ambassador Ricciardone’s incorrect response to his written question concerning the state of Christian churches in Turkey today, according to Tert.am.
Ambassador Ricciardone’s initial response that "most of the Christian churches functioning prior to 1915 are still operating as churches" was “so wrong as to be offensive,” stated Senator Menendez.
He continued, “What concerns me more, however, is that his response indicates that he either did not carefully review the responses that were submitted in his name or worse or that he truly was unaware of the history of the Christian church in Turkey and the difficulties that Christian churches continue to face in that country. His response indicates a lack of focus or interest in issues affecting the Armenian community... We need an ambassador in Ankara that can support, defend and advocate on behalf of all of the United States’ interests vis-à-vis Turkey. Unfortunately, I’ve lost confidence in the ability of Mr. Ricciardone to undertake that task and will not be able to support his nomination.”
In contrast with Ricciardone, US Ambassador to Armenia nominee John Heffern was approved unanimously by the committee by voice vote.
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