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JOHN A. HEFFERN: SHARED VALUES ARE THE BEDROCK OF TRUE PARTNERSHIP
Alisa Gevorgyan
"Radiolur"
02.04.2012 19:09
"Shared values are the bedrock of true partnership," US Ambassador
to Armenia John A. Heffern said during the meeting with students on
the occasion of the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic
relations between Armenia and the United States. "A shared humanity
bound us together after the earthquake over 20 years ago," he added.
Twenty years ago, in February 1992, the united states opened its first
Embassy in four rooms up on the eights floor of Hrazdan Hotel. Tom
Price, the then US Ambassador to Armenia, remembers all too well the
number of floors in the hotel. Electricity problems at the time caused
him to get stuck in the elevator one day, convincing him to walk up
8 flights of stairs to the office every day. "Obviously, we are in
much better shape at Embassy Yerevan, these days," John Heffern noted.
The Armenian-American relations have a history of 20 years. "Many
Americans, though, felt an emotional connection to Armenia several
years earlier, when the December 1988 Spitak earthquake brought
into American homes some heart-rending images of people in need,"
the Ambassador noted.
"Our relationship has come a long way since the embassy opened. The US
is trying to help Armenia in its transition from a command economy and
a closed political system in those early years to a more open system
that expands opportunities for all. Since Armenia's independence,
the United States Government has invested two billion dollars in
assistance here. We help where we can in non-monetary ways to promote
regional peace and integration and to expand our partnership," Mr.
Heffern said.
The Ambassador welcomed Armenia's position of building its future upon
the foundation of European values. "America's democratic experiment
these past 236 years has grown from ideas and values with strong
European roots - separation of power, checks and balances, freedom of
speech, press, and assembly, a constitutional system and a commitment
to the rule of law," he added.
"These same values are the foundation upon which to build the
US-Armenia relationship over the next twenty years. If we can agree
that our relationship is based on a common commitment to these core
principles of democracy and free markets, then we have a real basis
for meaningful and productive cooperation," the Ambassador stated.
Alisa Gevorgyan
"Radiolur"
02.04.2012 19:09
"Shared values are the bedrock of true partnership," US Ambassador
to Armenia John A. Heffern said during the meeting with students on
the occasion of the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic
relations between Armenia and the United States. "A shared humanity
bound us together after the earthquake over 20 years ago," he added.
Twenty years ago, in February 1992, the united states opened its first
Embassy in four rooms up on the eights floor of Hrazdan Hotel. Tom
Price, the then US Ambassador to Armenia, remembers all too well the
number of floors in the hotel. Electricity problems at the time caused
him to get stuck in the elevator one day, convincing him to walk up
8 flights of stairs to the office every day. "Obviously, we are in
much better shape at Embassy Yerevan, these days," John Heffern noted.
The Armenian-American relations have a history of 20 years. "Many
Americans, though, felt an emotional connection to Armenia several
years earlier, when the December 1988 Spitak earthquake brought
into American homes some heart-rending images of people in need,"
the Ambassador noted.
"Our relationship has come a long way since the embassy opened. The US
is trying to help Armenia in its transition from a command economy and
a closed political system in those early years to a more open system
that expands opportunities for all. Since Armenia's independence,
the United States Government has invested two billion dollars in
assistance here. We help where we can in non-monetary ways to promote
regional peace and integration and to expand our partnership," Mr.
Heffern said.
The Ambassador welcomed Armenia's position of building its future upon
the foundation of European values. "America's democratic experiment
these past 236 years has grown from ideas and values with strong
European roots - separation of power, checks and balances, freedom of
speech, press, and assembly, a constitutional system and a commitment
to the rule of law," he added.
"These same values are the foundation upon which to build the
US-Armenia relationship over the next twenty years. If we can agree
that our relationship is based on a common commitment to these core
principles of democracy and free markets, then we have a real basis
for meaningful and productive cooperation," the Ambassador stated.