THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA. A MEMORANDUM ON THE RECOGNITION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA, SUBMITTED BY THE SPECIAL MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA TO THE UNITED STATES

By: Armenuhi Ghambaryan,

On 9 October 1919, the special civilian mission of the Republic of Armenia arrived in New York. The delegation under Kajaznouni was joined by a member of the Armenian delegation in Paris, Garegin Pasdermajian (Armen Garo), who was appointed the RA Plenipotentiary Representative to the United States. H. Kajaznouni was authorized to provide solutions both to economic and political problems. Upon arrival his mission went to Washington to present Armenia’s problems to the American government. On 10 October 1919 H. Kajaznouni, as the Chairman of the mission and G. Pasdermajian as the diplomatic representative of the Republic, spoke at the hearings entitled "Maintenance of Peace in Armenia" in the Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate.
The statements of the Armenian delegates, who spoke about relief and military assistance to Armenians, as well as about the recognition of the Republic, played considerable role in shaping the opinions of the members of the subcommittee. After testifying at the subcommittee, the representatives of the Republic of Armenia met with a number of high-ranking American officials, including Secretary of State R. Lansing. During the meeting with R. Lansing, in response to recognize the Republic of Armenia, presented by H. Kajaznouni, the American official advised them to submit an official memorandum.
Thus, the Memorandum entitled “The Republic of Armenia” was prepared under the guidance of Kajaznouni and submitted to the Secretary of State by G. Pasdermajian on 28 October 1919. Later on, it was presented to the Senate by its member H. C. Lodge . On 10 November 1919, the Memorandum was printed as a Senate Document № 151 of the 1st Session of the 66th Congress in a separate booklet.
The document contained brief, but rich information about the Republic of Armenia. The representatives of the Armenian Republic tried to convey to the US Government that the young Republic of Armenia, having overcome the hardships of the last year and a half and despite the still existing serious difficulties of various kinds, was already an established state worthy of international recognition.
The requested memorandum did not play a special role in the political orientation of the United States towards Armenia, and only half a year later, in April 1920, the United States de facto recognized the Republic of Armenia.

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