Washington briefing: Senior U.S., Russian, and Turkish officials mark Armenia’s independence

by Emil Sanamyan and Lusine Sarkisyan

Published: Monday October 06, 2008

Ambassador Nabi Sensoy of Turkey, who attended an Independence Day reception at the Armenian Embassy in Washington on September 30, 2008. Embassy of Turkey

Ambassador Nabi Sensoy of Turkey, who attended an Independence Day reception at the Armenian Embassy in Washington on September 30, 2008. Embassy of Turkey Washington -

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Bohigian, the U.S. State Department's coordinator for Eurasian energy, Ambassador Steven Mann, newly appointed Russian ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak, and, significantly, Ambassador Nabi Sensoy of Turkey were among more than 100 guests at a reception on September 30 at the Armenian Embassy in Washington to mark Armenia's independence.

According to present and former Armenian Embassy staff, this was the first time since the Armenian Embassy in the United States was established that a Turkish Ambassador attended one of its formal functions. Ambassador Sensoy's unprecedented gesture comes weeks after the first-ever visit to Armenia by a Turkish president.

(One source told the Reporter that in 1999 Turkish Ambassador Baki Ilkin together with Azerbaijani Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev visited the Armenian Embassy to pay an informal farewell to outgoing Ambassador Ruben Shugarian. But neither Turkish nor Azerbaijani diplomats have attended Independence Day or Armed Forces Day receptions regularly held by the Embassy.)