 However, approximately five months later, the Obama administration appointed a new Special Envoy, Washington lawyer Clifford Sloan, to fill the chief diplomatic role, working in close coordination with a Pentagon-based counterpart, Paul Lewis.On February 8, 2018, Fried delivered the keynote address at JHUMUNC.Fried opposed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide during the U. S. Congressional hearings in March 2007.