relationship with turkey. turkey remains a critical nato ally with a predominantly muslim population, and a volatile and geopolitically strategic region of the world. recent events throughout the middle east and north africa have increased turkey's strategic importance as a center of power in this complex region. there's little doubt that turkey will continue to play an influential role in many of the national security threats facing the united states. i remain a proponent of a strong bilateral relationship with turkey and its continued integration into europe. however, it's also important to recognize where we have differences. turkey's troops continue to patrol in cyprus. ..

surge to egypt, he speaks a number of languages including turkish and arabic and finally and most importantly he is a graduate of dartmouth collagen in new hampshire. so again congratulations to all of you on your nomination and i

appreciate your willingness to come before the committee. we are fortunate to have senator lugar with us. i know he would like to make a statement. >> i am pleased to join you in welcoming our nominees of three important countries and our relationships with these countries are excellent and we will have an opportunity to review events in each of the three as we welcome ambassador ricciardone, ambassador eisen and ambassador ford. turkey is the center of several issues underscoring its importance as an ally. in particular i hope ambassador ricciardone's perspective on the recent resignations of turkey's top military leaders and the effect this will have on political stability will be part of our discussion. moreover interested to hear

about the dynamics related to the upheaval in syria. turkey's expanding diplomacy and ongoing role in the creation of the southern energy corridor. the czech republic remains an important ally of ours. i will be interested to hear from ambassador eisen about ramifications of the recent announcement that it will not participate in the current plan to the european phase to missile defense. regional energy interconnections, by versification in the czech republic remain fundamental to the united states in european efforts to improve energy security for the region. finally this is an important opportunity for the committee to review events in syria. the syrian regime is committed to the use of violence to suppress the will of its people. in the last few months alone 1700 people have been killed with 10,000 in prison.

the toll on syrian civilians including children gets worse day-by-day. despite the regime after efforts to cut off the internet, cellphone than other forms of communication the images continue to get out and the world is exposed to these brutalities. peace and stability and economic advancement would benefit from a swift transition to new leadership and representative government for all the syrian people. the alternative is a cycle of ever widening violence. the prospect of sectarian conflict. the regime seems intent on playing the prospect of sectarian strife and sought the aid of tehran as a means to hold on to power. we must explore ways to work with our allies to present a clear message to those around president al-assad that the violence must stop and

incredible political transition must begin immediately. the government of turkey has taken a strong stance given the potential for increasing refugee flows. syria's government must understand the current path will only deepen their isolation and intensify consequences for the regime and its leaders. i look forward to our discussion on these issues and others they will bring forward from their experience in american diplomacy. i thank you. >> thank you very much. senator lieberman, we are delighted to have you with us to introduce mr. eisen. >> thank you. an honor to be here. -express my appreciation on behalf of the nominees that you did not join the herd leaving washington after the vote at noon and thank you for convening this hearing.

i am here to introduce ambassador eisen. i would be remiss if i didn't say i had the opportunity to get to know ambassador ricciardone and ambassador ford. these are two extraordinary public servants for the united states and the countries in which they are serving. i am honored to be here to introduce mr. eisen. this is not a political duty. it is a personal pleasure because ambassador eisen and his wife are personal friends of mine and my family. the reason -- one of those stateless people who lived in washington d.c. so i do double duty by introducing such people. as you mentioned, ambassador eisen was nominated and given a recess appointment at the end of

last year but prior to his nomination he had a distinguished career as a lawyer in washington and special counsel for ethics and governmental reform in the white house. i regret it was necessary for the president to make a recess appointment but perhaps there's a silver lining here in that we can now judge ambassador eisen based on his performance over the last six months and from all i have heard has really been exemplary. since arriving in prague ambassador eisen has been a whirlwind of activity winning audits from everyone from the czech government to the american chamber of commerce whose leader has said, quote, in the short time in the country you have made a significant impact you have proven to be one of the most effective ambassadors to hold this post. he has been a tireless advocate for america's national interests

in the czech republic weather with regard to imposing sanctions against iran or winning contracts for american companies and i would like to insert a list of thank yous and testimonials from american companies doing business in the czech republic. >> without objection. >> for more than two years before ambassador eisen arrived in prague the u.s. had no ambassador in the czech republic which spurred doubt among our check allies and they have been great allies about our commitment to their country. this is not a situation we in our national interest should repeat so i hope we can confirm, give full confirmation to ambassador eisen this time. the czech republic has been an extraordinary partner and ally of the u.s. for the worse in iraq and afghanistan to the promotion of democracy worldwide. the checks are our best friends

and allies in europe and deserve to have an ambassador from our country that is confirmed by the full senate. as you may note norman eisen has a deep personal connection to the czech republic his mother having been born there. shea and his father survived the holocaust. profound historical justice that the ambassador's residence in prague which was built by a jewish family forced to flee prague by the nazis who in turn the nazis took over that house as their headquarters and 70 years later is occupied by norman and his family. and a personal privilege that he and they observe the sabbath every friday night and saturday. if you needed any evidence that there is a god i refer you to

the story of norman eisen and their family. classic american story. reflection of what our country is about at its very best and also precisely why the ambassador has proven such an effective representative of our nation, our interests and values and why i hope the committee can lead the senate in sending him back to prague as our ambassador as quickly as possible. >> are there members of the family? >> i think we should ask after giving your testimony, ambassador eisen and you should feel free to introduce your families and let us welcome them as well. >> thank you, senator lugar. >> thank you for sharing the last story about the residents of the ambassador. we are going to begin the panel

with ambassadors ricciardone and eisen and we will also be hearing the opening statement from ambassador ford and the question and answer period in the second panel. i will ask if you can begin, mr. eisen. feel free to introduce a family or friends who are here with you. >> madam chair, senator lugar, members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to be here again in connection with my nomination by president obama to continue serving as the united states ambassador to the czech republic. i am honored to have the confidence and trust of the president and secretary clinton in representing our country. since you asked i would like to introduce my wife, lindsay capelin, associate prof. of

english at georgetown university and our daughter. representing the united states in prague is a family effort and i believe the czech people appreciate my family as much as i do. almost as much as i do. when i was last before the committee i reflected on my extraordinary good fortune as a first-generation american from the vantage point of our small fast-food restaurant in los angeles where i grew up. my mother, czechoslovakia holocaust survivor and by father from poland could never imagine their son would someday serve as united states ambassador. as senator lieberman noted and my mother put it recently the nazis took away in cattle cars and my son has returned

representing the mightiest nation on earth. as that sentiment suggests my mission in the czech republic is informed by my deep sense of obligation to this country. to the united states. since my arrival in prague in january i worked with a talented embassy team in three principal areas. first the defense and security relationship between the two countries. second commercial and economic ties and surge shared values particularly shared values of good governance and civil-rights for all. in each area relationship was good but we have worked with the czech government and the czech civil society and the czech people to make it great. in the defense and security realm the czechs are staunch allies. over the past year they increased their contributions in

afghanistan to 700 soldiers and civilians. czech personnel operate in some of the most dangerous parts of the country and have suffered numerous casualties. when i visited afghanistan to thank czech and u.s. personnel for their service u.s. soldiers that i met with gave the czechs high praise. that included general david petraeus who explained the important responsibilities that czech allies are carrying out side by side, day by day with their u.s. partners in afghanistan. the czechs are a staunch friend of israel and a strong supporter of u.s. policy towards iran. they are one of our best allies in europe on those issues and across the board. in their own neighborhood the czech republic is a leading advocate in the european union for countries like georgia,

ukraine, through the e.u.'s eastern partnership initiative. elsewhere from cuba to burma to belarus to north korea the czechs are champions of human rights. we in the embassy in prague are proud to work with our czech partners on these issues. looking at defense and strategic partnership we are broadening our security cooperation, developing an approach that goes beyond any narrow focus to one with multiple areas of specialized operation where the czechs are world-class strategic partners in areas ranging from helicopters to chemical biological and radiological and nuclear mitigation to provincial reconstruction teams. in the economic and commercial area embassy prague has advocated american business during my tenure. we have an open door for you as firms and i met with dozens of

american companies from the very largest to the smallest. when they have concerns in the czech republic we vigorously work to resolve them engaging all the way to the high levels of government if necessary. are have encouraged czech investment in the u.s. traveling with officials and czech business to scout business opportunities here that will generate high-paying jobs in the united states. in commercial and economic work we have particularly emphasized civil nuclear cooperation. the czechs have six operating reactors and are planning an expansion worth $27 billion. it is one of the largest opportunities for u.s. businesses of its kind anywhere in the world. the u.s. competitor will mean an estimated 9,000 new good jobs in the united states across the

united states. to support that but we adopted the government's approach in the united states and with embassy prague to establish a broad civil nuclear strategic partnership between our two countries. from fostering new relations between u.s. and czech facilities to making regulatory exchanges to working together to improve nuclear safety are two nations are building a model civil nuclear relationship for the twenty-first century. my third area of emphasis is the shared values that bind our country together. czech and slovak aspirations in the twenty-first century were realized by the pittsburgh and washington declarations signed in the united states after world war i by president wilson's friend in czechoslovakia's first president legally reviewed name in my home growing up, united

states helped liberate czechoslovakia from the nazis, supported the resistance against communism and helped transform the revolution into reality. i have carried that message of friendship the length and breadth of the country visiting 20 cities and regions outside of prague in six months on the job. my message is one of war friendship but also candor. are supported the initiative with those in the czech government, the opposition and the czech public working for good government against corruption. i believe we are building a model in prague how to respectfully and forcefully gauge those. irrespective of their origin including -- my presence in

prague as a child of a slovak victim of nazi persecution is by itself a powerful message in the fight against extremism and for human-rights working with the talented interagency team in prague and taking every opportunity to help the czech people and their government to advance values and so honored to be asked to represent our country and government. madam chair and members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to appear before you. i welcome your questions. >> before we go on to ambassador ricciardone i want to recognize i understand the ambassador from the czech republic, very nice to have you join us. i don't know if there are other members of the diplomatic board here but welcome to all of you.

>> madam chair, members of the committee, very honored to appear before you today. it is an honor to be here today. when my partner did original foreign service in turkey and iran and everywhere else. my daughters are not able to join us but we have connections to turkey. we have studied -- in my 33 year career in foreign service are have the opportunity to serve in turkey three times and for this period i observed turkey's

transformation to a more democratic and more economically vibrant modern stage as a player with growing influence. throughout this development has been one of constant continued commitment to partnership with the united states in the nato alliance. also a member of the g 20 and fastest-growing economy in the world. noting turkey's history as the majority muslim nation and secular democracy president obama cited turkey's critical role helping the mutual understanding and stability in its neighborhood and around the world. if confirmed by will do everything i can to reinforce turkish american cooperation in support of our common goals which are the security alliance and shared democratic values. decades turkey and the united

states have cooperated to promote regional stability including countering terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction resolving regional conflicts, promoting energy security, expanding trade and economic development and interval to all of those strengthening democracy, human-rights and the rule of law. several strategic priorities merge in cases in particular in immediate consequence including iraq and afghanistan. the quest for peace between israel and its neighbors and iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. other conflicts as you mentioned with historic antecedence require no less sustained attention and cooperation including and resolved issues with cyprus and normalization of relations with our media. i have been privileged to serve during the arab spring during which i strive to enlist turkish

support for the nato role in libya for successful transition to democracy in egypt and in collaboration with my colleague and friend next door in syria to pressure the regime to cease its brutal repression and to heed the will of its people. just as the turkish government has played a role in promoting these political transitions its government and private sector are supporting economic development in egypt and tunisia that are so critical to the long-term stability in the region by increasing their trade and investment in those countries. wherever possible turkey and turkish firms are looking for partnerships with american firms. we share many goals with turkey. one of the more important is countering global terrorism and turkey has been one of our strongest neighbors in that pursuit. last month turkish security officials arrested an alleged al qaeda cell that was plotting to bomb western interests in turkey

including the united states embassy. we support turkey's formal security objective of defeating terrorist violence which the pkk continues to perpetrate and has led to the deaths of 30,000 turks since the 1980s. we support efforts to improve the human rights and economic situation for the kurds and their democratic participation as citizens and the rights of other communities of groups of turkishs. as the united states maintained its support for turkey's aspirations to join the european union we will continue to press for the reforms required. it is important to note turkish citizens themselves are demanding further progress promoting human rights and rule of law. most certainly including freedom of speech and religious freedom and in my return to turkey is my privilege to be with the heads of each of the religious

minorities, ancient jewish community, bartholomew and ii who are met a couple decades ago with secretary clinton and two weeks ago. the head of the series on the church and armenian church as well as well as the high community leader. the u.s. supports transparent and inclusive constitutional reform process to strengthen turkish democracy. we regard freedom of expression as central to democracy and reform process offers an opportunity to strengthen protections afforded to journalists, non-governmental organizations and minorities. the president and secretary of established economic cooperation with turkey as a strategic priority have emphasized the importance of supporting american firms and promoting turkish american trade and investment. during the president's april of 2000 meeting with the turkish president both leaders agreed to elevate economic relations to the level of our already strong political and military

relations. turkey is a leading focus in the president's new export initiative to double u.s. exports globally in five years. it is a special privilege to return for the past six months to strengthen the communications and friendship between our two people in all fields of private and official endeavors including fields of education, science and health. i know this committee has supported strongly public diplomacy and tried to make a special effort to communicate with the turkish people and bring private american groups and turks together. increasing contact and communication between americans and turks must be a primary means of advancing our interest on all the issues we face together today. if confirmed to continue my service as ambassador as in my service of all other posts in the past i will trust your support and advice and that of your colleagues and constituents who are interested in the interest of the united states in

turkey. thank you so much for this hearing. >> thank you. ambassador ford. >> thank you, madam chair. madam chair, senator lugar, i am honored to appear before you today and grateful for the trust and confidence placed in me by president obama and secretary clinton in nominating me to serve as united states ambassador to the syrian arab republic. at a time when it is more critical than ever that our voice be heard by the syrian regime and more importantly by the syrian people themselves. under the president's recess appointment i have been working in syria since late january. it has not been an easy job but the strategic stakes and strategic opportunities we have in syria are quite dramatic.

there is the hugely important story about the struggle for human dignity underway in syria. i arrived in syria at a month before the protests started. in the past five months those protests have grown slowly in size and they now extend across all of syria. the protesters demanded respect for their basic rights, freedom of speech, freedom to march peacefully and an end to corruption and above all they demand that their government treat them with dignity. i want to emphasize we talk about the arabs bring in washington. the key word is dignity, treating people with dignity. the government's response has been brought will. it has been outrageous. nearly 2,000 people have been killed by the syrian security forces and thousands more

arrested and held in barbaric conditions. one cannot have but admiration for the protesters courage and ingenuity and then they have stayed generally peaceful despite bullets, beatings and the constant risk of arrest and torture. in my five months -- sorry, six months i have seen two principal task in front of me. first to insist to the syrian officials and to convince them that opening more space for the syrian people to express themselves is vital for the credibility of those officials and that government and for syria more largely. there have been a few positive steps taken by the government. they have released many political prisoners. they have allowed some meetings

by the political opposition. however, as i said, in general their behavior has been atrocious and their recent actions that we read about in the newspaper these days only underscore that the syrian government is unwilling to lead the democratic transition that the syrian people demand. my second vital function is to work with the syrian position. i have spent enormous amounts of time discussing with them their ideas for the future and discussing with them the questions other syrians and the international community will ask about them. it is really important now to give serious and year and to amplify their forces especially when the international media is barred from syria.

i have been trying to draw the attention of the syrian regime and the international community to the legitimate grievances the syrian people have with their government. they want to be heard. i wish the members of this committee could have seen how enthusiastic the protesters were to have a chance to talk to the american ambassador. the crisis in syria is not about the united states directly. as i said it offers us opportunities to promote respect for our principles and our ideals. the syrian crisis offers opportunities to reinforce stability and peace in the middle east. but syrians must resolve the crisis. the manner in which the crisis

is resolved has to be a syrian one. my job is to help establish the space for syrian activists and syrian thinkers, businesspeople and for the syrian people generally to develop and organize a political transition that must occur if syria is to be stable again. syriac's twenty-three million people are already thinking about what happens when alice odd is no longer president of syria. we share a vision of what syria could be bigger still an open and democratic country where governments is based on consent of the government. unified and tolerant country where arabs and kurds, christians and jews see

themselves as syrians first and celebrate syria's rich cultural diversity. a strong country at peace with its neighbors and exercising a stabilizing influence in the region. strong country that plays a responsible role in the broader international community and a country that does not support iranian efforts to destabilize the region or give support to terrorist groups like hezbollah. as the president said syria will be a better place when the democratic transition goes forward. i and my team in damascus, my colleagues that the department of state and throughout the u.s. government and the syrian people are working to make that vision a reality. thank you for this opportunity to address the committee and i look forward to responding to

questions at the appropriate time. >> thank you for your testimony. as i indicated in introducing ambassador the eisen and ricciardone you were both recess appointments. i would like to begin this afternoon by asking you each to address the situation that require your recess appointments and why you believe the senate should confirm you this year and i will ask you to begin, mr. eisen. >> as you noted the czechs are our closest allies in the region and in the world and an ambassador was needed after a hiatus to work on critical issues like afghanistan, iran, israel and the potential $27 billion civil nuclear export

opportunity. it is my understanding my nomination was held over concerns about a personal matter handled by my office when i worked in the white house. we attempted to resolve those concerns but were unable to do so and given the importance security and economic issues on which we worked with the czechs the president determined a recess appointment was appropriate and necessary. since my arrival in prague we have made strong progress on all those issues, afghanistan, iran and many other important areas in the relationships. those remain as vital as ever. i believe that progress, the energy that not only i have put in but the entire embassy team in prague have put in and the good work that they and we have

done is the best case for continued presence of an ambassador in the czech republic. >> mr ricciardone. >> thank you for the opportunity to address that question. as you pointed out yourself turkey is a pivotal country, critical placed geographically at a very tense moments of conflict throughout the region. it has influence in all of those issues that are strategic concerns of the united states. moreover internally going for a hugely important and deliberate process of change. the turkish people deciding their own direction and their future and they look to us as they go through this. they care about what we think. we have an extraordinarily talented embassy team that i found on arrival in january and one to our summer transition. they do the heavy lifting

diplomacy every day. they do a lot without an ambassador. the fact is having an ambassador present improves the united states's ability to speak every day to the top of government and different institutions including the military as well as civilians and the republic in a way that cannot be done. i am very grateful the president appointed me. i am grateful to have been there throughout this period of the arab spring with so much going on in the region where turkey has swung in and stabilized those transitions. i regret i was unable to cope resolve the concerns of individual members of the senate, i would be honored and grateful to address any concerns from any member regarding my past service and current service in turkey or anywhere else and i thank you for the opportunity.

>> thank you. as i understand part of the questioning -- questions that were raised had to do with your tenure in iraq as ambassador to egypt. were there any particular concerns you would like to address today that were raised? >> i was very proud of my service not only in iraq but before saddam hussein went down. i worked with the iraqi opposition, democratic opposition to saddam hussein under president clinton and secretary albright and my job was to organize and support the iraqis working for a post saddam hussein future and i was privileged to be part of that. i did that to the best of my ability and worked with members of congress who were keenly interested. if there were particular questions i'm not sure -- some members of the iraqi opposition

uphold american policy. i worked closely in egypt not only with the government but civil society. the theory of the case we had was we had to press on all fronts starting with a stubborn president hosni mubarak, with his government, with his state and civil society. i was privileged to go to the headquarters of opposition movements to continue the flow of funding provided by the united states through usaid and civil society groups. that remains an issue with the government of egypt. i was proud to do that and took up the issue with president hosni mubarak himself and determined to keep doing that. i am glad to answer any particular questions that may

come up. i made it a point to meet with all the religious community leaders. one of the great experiences of my life -- the incantations of the pharaoh being called down. i met with his holiness many times and sought his advice on how to advance the cause of freedom for egypt's christians. i met with the greek patriarch and the russian orthodox patriarch and took up the cause with hosni mubarak himself and had small success in that front. i worked hard and won some and lost others but that is the nature of our business. i will address any particular questions. >> thank you for the effort to clarify those concerns that have been raised. i was very surprised to see so

many of turkey and general step down over the weekend and i wondered if you could give your assessment of what that means for the civilian government and what it means in terms of the military. how do we interpret what happened? >> as to what this means for turkey's democracy and civilian government the turks themselves are analyzing all of that and debating at and deciding what it means and we are asking them for what it means to the united states and our security relationship with them. i am very confident it has not caused a setback in any way. on a contrary at this time of year there is always a turnover in the leadership in any case this turnover happened in a different way by means of

resignation under protest for particular reasons articulated by the general. we look forward to working with the new leadership. the security relationship goes beyond individuals. it is based on institution. turkey is a state of law and strong institutions that are durable even though they are dynamic and in change. every confidence our security relationship will continue to be strong and our military leaders will meet with new turkish military leaders. hi am very confident things will be fine. >> my time is up. senator lugar. >> thank you very much. ambassador eisen, the czech republic was expected to post missile defense radar under the bush defense plans for europe but that was scrapped in 2009 in favor of the phase adapt

approach. even though prod announced it was not interested in the administration's current proposal, it bears open to considering future participation in projects. what do you see as the lay of the land as destructive relationship and how would you propose we proceed? >> thank you. it has not disrupted the relationship. this has been an active subject of conversation and i am pleased to tell you that the government is strongly supportive of the nato missile defense plan phase adapt approach as adopted at lisbon. you are quite right that an earlier conversation we had with the czech government about the

share early-warning system which was prior to the adoption of a nato missile defense strategy at lisbon was overtaken by events. the czechs felt the limited data they would receive under the shared early warning was no longer necessary but we made the effort because of the broader adoption of the phase adapt approach. part of the results of a good partnership between the czech government and the united states including the embassy in prague has been strong embrace of the phased adapt approach as adopted by nato at lisbon so it is full steam ahead. we are as good a place as ever on that. >> you noted a key priority for united states policy is to

enhance regional energy security including diversification. what is the most pressing area for cooperation in this sphere? >> there is critical energy security issue in the czech republic. 100% of the czech republic's nuclear fuel is supplied by russia. 70% of their oil. 65% of their gas. we made diversification a priority of engagement. the greatest single opportunity is to achieve energy security through the expansion of the czech civil nuclear capacity. they have six 5 functioning nuclear reactors, a very strong regulator. unlike other nations very strong national commitment and strong public support for this critical alternative energy source in the

twenty-first century and we focus not just on the westinghouse bid to expand to mullen with a high dollar value with so many u.s. jobs but that is just one part of this partnership and we have worked hard in embassy prague and throughout the united states government. one of the first thing that did was talk to all the -- work on a whole new government approach to build the 20 first century partnership between our two countries. we are working on r&d together and education. on regulation. that has been an important part of our work. i traveled recently with the foreign minister of the czech republic to texas to sign an agreement under our joint

declaration on civil nuclear cooperation which we have with the czechs, leading provider of degrees in civil nuclear engineering and the czechs civil nuclear engineering network in the czech republics of our two nations can build on this area in the twenty-first century. >> the public support -- >> there is. one of the most gratifying moments for me returning to my mother's homeland was the rational approach the czech public took to their energy needs, need for energy security to diversify energy sources. strong national consensus in favor of expanding strong government consensus and the

risk factors whether tsunamis are present or not. it is a very good location for that expansion. we are pleased to work not just on that bid which is important but on a broad partnership for civil nuclear energy security which is a model how our two nations can work together. >> two parts to this. first of all turkey remains central for the united states efforts to build a pipeline project for greater european energy independence. i like your views on what progress has been achieved recently and where the project might stand to rival pipeline projects. turkey has been in negotiation with the united states on missile defense radar for several years. no agreement finalized to several outstanding turkish concerns and later intelligence

sharing with israel. how close are we to that deal? can you make a comment on the intelligence sharing? >> the southern energy transit corridor, there is one very good option. we're intensively engaged and optimistic and there is progress. i believe there actually is. there are several governments involved and several companies involved. i can tell you without betraying any confidence that secretary clinton raised this issue to the foreign minister of turkey two weeks ago. ambassador morningstar was a long. we have been pushing since then. i have not had a readout of the

discussion but i know he was intending to talk about this issue. the key is getting gas to fill whatever pipeline will come down. that is the next step. we hope next month there will be an agreement to some of these concerns to fill the pipeline and transit fees. we are working on it and hoping. on missile defense turkey did support the nato effort for the radar system well beyond the generality for detailed technical discussions and legal discussions with the government of turkey. we hope they understand what this will mean to turkey and all its technical, political and security aspects to make turkey

more secure as well as the rest of nato and we believe we are addressing those questions in substantive detail. we hope the british government will say there is enough information to make a decision very soon. >> senator mendez. >> congratulations to both of you. ambassador ricciardone, i enjoyed our last conversation. some items have developed since we spoke and one is with reference to cyprus. the parties are engaged in pretty intense talks by the united nations secretary. i look at the developments and what has happened to the military in turkey which is part

of the challenge of getting to a solution in cyprus and the look in this new development and wonder how that affects the possibility of making real progress. on the flip side are look at the prime minister's statements which said forget what we were negotiating in the past. this is the two state solution which is different from what by communal federation. and to multiplying in greater numbers or expect -- that doesn't seem to be in line with moving towards a solution. so can you give me an update on your perspective? since turkey is a key player as to whether or not we will be able to achieve a resolution to the division of cyprus. are those facts complicating?

opportunities? how do you see that? >> i could do the document -- diplomatic thing and say i'm optimistic but i don't want to mislead. on the first part of your question i don't believe the changes and military leadership will make a difference one way or the other in terms of the prospects for the solution we have been after in cyprus. i don't think it is entirely germane. the military is not calling the shots on this policy of the government of turkey. as to the prime minister's statements i would rather not say anything here that makes it any harder than it already is for the united nations special representative who has succeeded in getting the turkish community

leader to commit to meeting with some frequency, twice a week into the fall to press for the only solution anyone has ever considered possible. a by communal federation. leopold that and support it. the assistant secretary gordon raised this with the turkish leaders of a couple weeks ago. >> you really do not believe that to make his own decisions notwithstanding what the turkish government views are. do you believe he could make independent decisions not withstanding what the turkish government is? >> extremely salience. i would point out since i have been back to turkey there have been tensions in the relationship between northern

cyprus and ankara. there were protests back and forth. they identify themselves with cyprus. it is a distinct identity. beyond that i wouldn't wish to hazard guess how far mr. heirloom would go in making decisions -- >> i was asking about him so much as the assignment where you are in turkey and its influence in the decisionmaking process. from my perspective on have been following this for 20 years. it is clear to me that turkey has a significant influence in whether or not this issues is resolved in a way that is acceptable to greek and turkish and the international community. i get a sense based on the prime minister's most recent statements that it has become

more onerous to try to achieve that goal. let me turn to another issue you will want to be diplomatic about. and that is the question as our ambassador to turkey in the relationship with armenia. has the united states ever denied the fact that there was an armenian genocide? >> i stand behind president obama's characterization as the armenians college, the tragic massacre, murder of a million men, women and children marched to their deaths in 1915. i stand behind our

characterization of that and efforts of what we're doing. >> would you disagree with president obama's statements as senator obama? >> i would not disagree. >> would you disagree with vice president biden's characterization as senator biden? >> they're both my superiors and i would not disagree with -- >> would you disagree with the secretary of states's characterization of the armenian genocide as senator? >> i would not disagree with my secretary of state. >> you are wise beyond your years. the president of the united states, vice president of the united states, secretary of state as senator at the time from their respective states acknowledged the fact of the armenian genocide in their tenure as senator and it seems

to me -- i appreciate your responses but here we are again playing a difficult set of circumstances where we have nominees to armenia going to armenian genocide commemorations and never using the word genocide. we have our ambassadors to turkey which is an important party to get beyond this and move forward but if you can recognize the historical fact in the same set of circumstances our vice president and secretary of state very clearly recognized there was an armenian genocide. difficult to understand how we move forward in that respect. difficult how we put our diplomats in that respect but i appreciate your answers. i see mr ford coming back. >> he will be here for the

second panel. senator casey. >> thank you senator shaheen. i want to thank the nominees for their public service and your testimony today. time is short and we are limited and the topics we can cover but i want to start with ambassador ricciardone. we will be talking later at some length about syria and the massacre going on there. it is my sense and a widely shared view that over a number of years if not for more than a generation, in the last number of years turkey has played a significant role as a regional balance her of power in the region and has been constructed at times in the region and this

is one of those times the world needs the help that turkey can provide as it relates to syria. these acts of violence against the people of syria are unacceptable you to give your respect to this. ..

just about a month ago where other times we pressed to find out what the turks were finding from the prime minister. he made clear he was very set,

worried, concerned but he believed turkey had to exhaust every other avenue to induce change and reform syria to get them to stop violence against their own people, to listen to their own people. he admitted they've been trying hard and they have not been very successful. united states we have had ourselves in the same position. we've done everything to encourage, pressure for reform. my colleague will speak to those efforts in a few minutes. and we heard the president yesterday expressing turkey's sense that perhaps they reached something like the end of that. we'll have to see. >> i also wanted to -- and i know there's more we can talk about with regard to syria. i wanted to move to the question of iran. we know that the iranian regime

has been the subject of a broad array of sanctions and that's in the last year or so has been a very positive step in the right direction. there's a lot of unanimity in the region and well beyond the region about sanctions against the iranian regime. i'd ask you with regard to that question, how you -- how you assess or how you think the turks can help us to enforce those sanctions to make sure they're enforced by their government and to make sure that they can be a constructive force in urging turkish companies and other businesses in the region to comply -- not just comply but to be cognizant of those iranian sanctions? >> thank you, senator. the turkish leadership at all levels, whenever we speak about iran are emphatic that they oppose any iranian effort to acquire weapons of mass

destruction. they point out that they'd be the first victims not only of such a weapon but of a race for such weapons in the region which they do not want to see iran unleash. they assert that they are firmly enforcing united nations security council sanctions including under 1929 to which they didn't vote. beyond that, we have asked for specific help. they say that the united states laws specific sanctions does not apply to turkey but they acknowledge that turkish firms can be affected and turkish firms will have to make a choice under our law to deal with america and american companies or iranian ones. we've asked them to go beyond that and help publicize what that means in technical detail. if banks or other companies want to do business with iran, help them understand. we're putting out this

information. we at the u.s. embassy are glad to spread that information. we asked turkish regulators and government entities to, you know, point out, remind their companies the choices they're going to have to face and make the information further available in turkish to their companies. we're working with them. >> let me just say in conclusion with regard to cyprus, i'd associate myself with senator menendez's comments about that subject. and i know ambassador eisen, we don't have a time to ask a question but we'll submit our question in writing but i think you know the high regard we have for you as well and we have a lot of mutual friends in pennsylvania. thank you. >> thank you, senator. >> senator kuehn. >> thank you, madam chair congresswoman. i want to thank you for your service here and i clarify that

in my view you all three serve in distinction and advocate for your confirmation so that you can continue in these strong leadership roles. i won't stay for the second panel so i wanted to particularly commend ambassador ford with his resolve with the difficult situations in syria and personally going to a meeting with protesters and demonstrators with some very difficult situations and advocating for our values and our interest in our nation. i hope it is clear that many in this body share secretary clinton's statement that president assad has lost legitimacy to lead and very grave concern about the path forward in syria. as it relates to turkey i'm very concerned about recent events about what this weekend's -- what it means about the secular military traditions and

foundations in the modern turkish state and the increasingly islamist tendencies in some in the current administration. i'm concerned with turkey's relationship with israel. to ambassador ricciardone, you've chosen a particularly interesting post to return to. as the questions from other members of the panel have suggested, whether the relations with cypress, with greece, the ongoing challenges in iran, in syria, the relationship with israel -- there's plenty we could dedicate our time to. and i mean no disrespect to ambassador eisen who serves with one of our closest and best allies but turkey presents a rich menu of potential questions to pursue. your last question about the choice that turkish companies must make between facing sanctions under assad and i appreciate senator casey raising the issue. i think it is very critical that we engage turkish business so i'm grateful for your leadership in the u.s.-turkey business council and promoting entrepreneurship and opening the u.s. markets but i would also urge your aggressive engagement to the extent appropriate. in clarifying our very strong

concerns as a nation about iran and its development and was pleased to hear in response to previous questions your view that the prime minister is being engaged and effective in advocating for, i think, what is a very broadly shared multinational concern over the tragic concerns over syria and i would view it as crimes against humanity by the assad regime in murdering their own people. i also want to associate myself with senator menendez's questions about cyprus. and the first would be what have you been able to do in order to promote religious freedom. you referenced a meeting with his holiness bartholomew and

what process can be restoring the property and the seminary and what could we be doing to be a more effective partner with you in advocating for religious tolerance and openness in turkish society? and then second, what's your assessment of the state of turkish-israeli relations. turkey at one time was a vital so lie in israel and i hope the change in military leadership will open a window for improved relations. i recognize this is a very difficult moment in getting past the difficulties of last year's flotilla incident are quite difficult. so given the limitations of your role as a diplomatic representative of the united states, i would welcome any insights you would have for us on how we strengthen business ties and recognize they're a wonderful ally in the conflict in afghanistan and iraq and have stood by us in nato and in many context while pressing forward religious freedom and the importance of our strategic relationship with israel. >> senator, thank you for all those questions. let me start with religious freedom first and then go on to israel. if you wish to pursue cyprus we can do that as well. on religious freedom i have raised this question with the -- all of the leaders i've been privileged to see and i made it

a point to call on the community leaders as well. i wanted the community leaders' perspective not only on the property issues -- not only with the greek orthodox, of course, but also the armenian community, the syrianis have their own parallels sorts of issues and i've gone into some detail with them and we learned the legal questions. they all have legal cases at one level or another in the turkish courts, which they're prepared to take on to international courts. i don't want to betray any of their confidences in these legal things but they are encouraged by the first ever contacts they are having with high leaders with the state both substantive on ones. and honor and dignity and respect. they have had their first ever visits by high officials of the

state to them, not them to their offices of the prime minister and the governor but governors and the prime minister coming to them. that has not happened before. or in anyone's memory at least in the modern history of the republic. when i've raised these with high officials of the state, they say why should you be surprised? we are not afraid of religion. and very interestingly, they follow our debates about personal freedom and religious freedom, and they say, here's how you can understand this, american ambassador. in your country you have in recent years made a distinction between freedom of religion and the concept of freedom from religion. and for too long in our modern republic we focused on preventing the intrusion of religion in our national life and political life. we're quite comfortable to be observant muslims. please do not call us islamists

they tell us. but if someone is praying as a christian or a jew, it really doesn't bother us at all. why should it? it's no threat to the state. on the contrary, we're rather proud of our diversity and we're happy to have them do it. as to their property issues, let us take a fresh look at this and make sure that they get justice. i'm very hopeful. again, i don't want to betray any confidences. i don't want to overpromise. but i do be hopeful that the seminary in particular will be resolved. his all holiness' anniversary 40 years as a priest and he would very much like to have that resolved this year. we would too. on israel, i can't speak for israel. i spent time there. i have israeli friends. i don't claim expertise. but i feel very certain having discussed this at length with the prime minister with the

foreign minister, certainly the military leadership that all these turks, whatever their feelings, misgivings, irritation, issues over the terrible flotilla incident over last year, over events in gaza, they understand that to influence events in the region, to be a part of a more peaceful and more prosperous region which is in their vital national interest, they need to have a normal, fruitful, respectful, full diplomatic dialog with israel. and they want to get back to that. we worked very much with both sides. we reminded each side of the stake they have in the relationship with the other. and neither side really needs any reminding. they know the importance of it. secretary of state again has been working on this personally through her recent visit and otherwise. i dare be hopeful that turkey and israel will figure this out

and i certainly hope to see a turkish ambassador back in tel-aviv very, very soon. let me end there, if i may. >> thank you very much for your hard work. mr. ambassador, it's a vital strategic relationship and i'm grateful for your advocacy on behalf of the people of the united states on behalf of the republican of turkey. >> thank you, senator coons. i have to go preside over the senate in a few minutes but i did want to raise one more question for ambassador eisen before i go. critics of the obama administration's reset policy with russia have suggested that engagement with russia would come at the expense of our allies in central and eastern europe. i wonder if you could speak to the czech republic's view of the administration's reset efforts with russia? >> i think that the czech republic has come to understand

and appreciate the spirit of the reset of russia and the benefits that that confers not just for u.s.-russian relationship but in the region. of course, the president has made prague the centerpiece of these issues going to prague twice including -- i had the privilege to accompany him last year for the signing of the s.t.a.r.t. treaty with president medvedev. i was very pleased, i think, as a token and indeed more than a token a recognition of the importance of these issues that my czech colleagues affirmatively embraced the so-called prague agenda. and took the bull by the horns and scheduled an international conference on the prague agenda

not long after i arrived in the czech republic to commemorate the one-year anniversary and the two-year anniversary of the president's speeches there. we had representatives from russia and from the united states come and also dr. gary singer to think about what the long-term benefits can be for the region and for the world. so i think we've made good progress. i could give other examples but i think we've made good progress on these grounds that it's important to have an ambassador there to help convey communications in both directions on this subject. and i'm very pleased where we are on the reset now. >> thank you very much. senator casey or senator coons, do either of you have any questions for this panel? i have a few other questions that we will present in writing for each of you and the record

will stay open until close of business on friday for any further questions from members of the committee. so hearing no further questions, i will thank you both again for your service and your willingness to continue to do this and hope we can get swift action from the senate and close this hearing. and turn the gavel over to senator casey. [inaudible conversations]

>> we will start our second panel. and mr. ford, i know before i arrived here, that you had an opening statement. what i'll do is i will present an opening statement and then we can go right to -- we can go right to questions. am i correct in that? you did present? >> yes, senator, that is correct. >> i wanted to make sure. thanks so much. i know we're moving to our second panel on a very busy day. but i wanted to get right into these critically important issues. over the past few days, scores have been killed in hama, the same location of the devastated attack by government forces in the year 1982, which killed an estimated 10,000 syrian civilians. despite this sustained assault

by government forces, syrian activists continued to demonstrate in very large numbers. a testament to their courage, their cause, and their desire for the most basic elements of human rights and human dignity. the horror taking place in syria today has led me and i know many others in this body, the united states senate, to be very clear about the conclusion that we've reached. this is a regime that is not capable of real reform. it has lost all legitimacy. we must be direct and i believe unequivocal in our message to the dictator of damascus. he must step down. the syrian people should not have to bear the brutality of this regime any longer.

these demonstrations started with children. on march the 6th of this year, the syrian authorities arrested 15 school children in the city of dara for spray painting antigovernment slogans. these children were reportedly tortured while they were, in fact, in custody. their parents and members of the community demonstrated and called for their release. the police used force on the parents and community leaders. and within a week, had killed 55 people. today after months of courageous demonstrations and, of course, that's a dramatic understatement. there's no other way to adequately convey the courage and the valor of these people. after all of that demonstration,

some estimates are that the death toll has reached maybe as high as 2,000 but at least more than 1,600. some think, of course, even 2,000 would be too low. we don't know for sure. but it is unacceptable for us to stand by any longer and just watch this. the terrible reach of this regime has directly affected constituents in my home state of pennsylvania. dr. asim halak is a naturalized person citizen from syria and a respected oncology researcher who lives in marion park, pennsylvania, just outside of philadelphia. in may, his brother, sacor, who is also a doctor visited the u.s. to go to a medical conference. upon his return to syria, he was missing. his wife contacted the

authorities who confirmed that he was in their custody but would be released shortly. the next day, sacor's wife and daughter were interviewed by the authorities who again confirmed that he would be released. two days later, his body was discovered in a village 20 miles south of the area. the authorities then denied that he was ever in their custody and claimed that they found his body in a ditch by the side of the road. sacor's body was subjected to brutal torture. his bones were broken and his body was mutilated in unspeakable ways. sacor was not a political activist. he was not involved in the demonstrations. his sole offense appears to be his visit to the medical conference and his visit with

his brother in united states of america. we honor his memory, sacor's memory, and hundreds of others by calling for democratic change in syria. we know that our allies across the arab league and in turkey, as i raised before in the first panel, have a unique and critical role to play here to pressure mr. assad. they have economic and diplomatic ties with syria that the united states does not have. i support these efforts to leverage these relationships for a comprehensive regional approach to this crisis and applaud our allies who have rejected the assad regime. in addition to strong messages from washington and a concerted diplomatic push, more can be done to pressure syria at international bodies. we need to maintain pressure on syria at the united nations human rights council.

we should also consider to pursue a resolution at the u.n. security council condemning the syrian government's behavior. on monday of this week, germany called for a security council meeting on syria which i hope will result in a strong resolution though some security council members remain resistant, especially, in the wake of recent violence, it is unacceptable for the united nations to continue ignoring the courage of the syrian people and the carnage brought about by the syrian regime. we must also continue to pursue efforts to constrict the ability of this regime to conduct business abroad i recommend the new sanctions on syria announced this week which impose asset freezes and travel bans on five more military and government officials. we must also be willing to examine expanded sanctions on

the banking and energy sectors. i also want to applaud the courageous work done by our diplomats in damascus led by robert ford, who's with us today. ambassador ford's recent trip to hama is a testament of his commitment to representing the interests and the values of the united states. due to the draconian measures imposed on the media by the assad regime, ambassador ford has been one of the few people who's traveled within syria and bourne witness to the truth of the terrible crimes taking place across that country. president obama was right to send ambassador ford to syria last year. i look forward to supporting his confirmation when it comes before the full senate. mr. ford has shown that an american ambassador is not a gift to host countries but a representative who actively pursue american interests and american values. the most basic american value,

the right to democratic representation is at stake in syria, and much more, of course, is at stake. and i know that ambassador ford has been a stalwart advocate for this principle of democratic representation while he has served in damascus. ambassador ford, welcome back to the senate foreign relations committee. i know this is your second welcome today. but i thank you for your decades, decades of service and the remarkable efforts you and your team have undertaken in damascus and i look forward to the answers you'll provide to our questions. i wanted to open up with just an assessment, your assessment, of the violence and the current state of the -- not just the

violence and the scale of it but also what you can tell us about the opposition and how they're doing and how we can be most effective, most helpful? we meaning the united states congress. >> thank you very much, senator. it's nice to see you again. >> thank you. >> first, if i may, i'm very fortunate to work with a small but very dedicated team at the u.s. embassy in damascus. both americans and syrians. and one of my team is here. she actually interrupted her vacation to help me come during these few days of meetings i have in washington. so i'd like to introduce joann cummings who's wearing read. joann works on economic and political issues in damascus. she lives in damascus without her husband, who was evacuated because of the deteriorating security situation all of our american staff live without their families. and it's a really super team. and it is a team effort. >> thank you as well. on our behalf.

>> senator, with respect to the violence, it's getting worse. the syrian's government constant brutality, its refusal to allow peaceful marches, its insistence on widespread arrest campaigns and its atrocious torture -- the reports you read about, the detention conditions are just ghastly, they are in turn fostering more violence. we saw the in the third largest country two weeks ago and we're seeing it in this country, too, i think. i want to be clear, i visited a government sponsored trip in june. i heard what they said and i wandered away from the crowd and talked to some other people. it's very clear what happened up