JOE BIDEN WELCOMES PROGRESS IN ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

ArmInfo
2009-04-24 12:13:00

ArmInfo. Vice-president of the USA Joe Biden has welcomed the progress
in the Armenian-Turkish relations.

On Thursday Biden spoke by phone with Armenian President Serge
Sarkisian, and a statement from Biden’s office said the vice president
told him that he welcomed Wednesday’s announcement from Armenia and
Turkey of a breakthrough in normalizing ties after years of bitter
tensions.

"The vice president applauded President Sarkisian’s leadership, and
underscored the administration’s firm support for both Armenia and
Turkey in this process," the statement said.

The administration has tread carefully around the development, reached
through the help of Swiss mediators. On Friday, Obama is expected to
issue an annual presidential statement on the World War I-era killings
of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

At issue is whether Obama will refer to the killings as genocide. Doing
so could shake the agreement and upend recent pledges of a closer
partnership with Turkey, a vital ally in a critical region.

Steering around the word would break his unequivocal campaign pledges
to recognize the killings as genocide, the Associated Press reported.