U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills delivered a speech for the Armenian-American Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, November 10.
Greeting the guests, Mills said he is pleased the close ties between the United States and Armenia have continued to intensify over the last two decades.
“But for all the very real achievements since 1991, there are also areas where progress has been halting, or has outright stalled,” the ambassador noted.
According to Mills, it is disheartening that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict remains unresolved and the border with Turkey is closed. The U.S. government will continue to pursue government to government and people to people efforts in order to advance the resolution of these issues, he said. Regarding Nagorno Karabakh, Mills noted, the U.S. government remains committed to helping the parties reach a peaceful, negotiated settlement via the Minsk Group process.
“With regard to Turkey, we urge both sides to remain open to efforts at reconciliation and normalization, which will promote stability and prosperity in both countries,” the Ambassador said.
“Before I arrived in Yerevan, President [Barack] Obama and Secretary of State [John] Kerry conveyed to me this message: the U.S. government’s broad goal in its relationship with Armenia is a democratic, prosperous, secure Armenia at peace with its neighbors. And that overarching goal underpins the priorities that I have set for the embassy’s work while I am ambassador,” Mills said.
The ambassador promised to focus as much as possible on those priorities, including the improvement of business and trade relations between the two countries, the fight against corruption. According to him, continuing efforts should be taken to strengthen democratic institutions, human rights, and civil society in Armenia.
As Mills noted in conclusion, “the U.S. embassy and I personally need to do a better job of explaining U.S. policies, not our bilateral policies and shared goals with Armenia, but towards the world in general.”
