HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE: ARMENIANS LINK

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 001835 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, IO, DRL/MLA E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2015 TAGS: PREL IS AM UNGA SUBJECT: HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE: ARMENIANS LINK CO-SPONSORSHIP WITH DISCUSSION OF "OUR GENOCIDE" REF: A. A) STATE 188927 ¶B. B) GODFREY-WASILEWSKI OCT 4 E-MAIL Classified By: DCM A.F.Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b,d). (C) We delivered demarche talking points to MFA Chief of International Organizations Division Valery Mkrtumyan October 12 per instructions in reftel A. (Note: Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian is out of the country on extended travel and Mkrtumyan is the most well-informed MFA official on these issues after the FM. End note.) Mkrtumyan's response on the Holocaust Remembrance resolution was less positive than the earlier signals we had received from the FM's Senior Advisor (ref B). Mkrtumyan said that the GOAM would continue to push hard for the inclusion of language that mentioned "our genocide" (referring to the 1915 killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey). When pressed, Mkrtumyan said the GOAM would vote for the resolution in its current state, but expressed doubt about Armenian co-sponsorship unless there was "some discussion about editing a document that is not yet complete." He suggested that the U.S. and others were stifling discussion on the issue by presenting the resolution as an "all or nothing" document. Mkrtumyan said that FM Oskanian was managing the issue personally and had instructed his deputies and the Armenian PermRep in New York not to make any commitments without his direct consent. He admitted, however, that neither the MFA nor Armenia's UN Mission in New York had the latest word from Oskanian on the issue. (C) Comment: We are not sure that Mkrtumyan's tough stance on the Holocaust Resolution issue is fully up-to-date. After our long discussion with him, however, it is clear that the issue exposes sensitivities that could make it difficult for Oskanian to authorize co-sponsorship without appearing "weak" on the issue to some in Yerevan. The Armenians will not risk an unhelpful image on an issue in which they feel they are deeply involved. The commitment to vote for the resolution, regardless of co-sponsorship, appears solid. We will continue to push this message with the Armenians and will raise it with Oskanian himself upon his return later next week. EVANS