Hürriyet, Turkey
June 6 2009

U.S. encouraged by Turkish-Armenian progress, sees commitment

ISTANBUL – The U.S. is very encouraged by the progress that has been
made in the normalization process of Turkey and Armenia and sees
commitment on both sides, Secretary of State said late Friday.

"What’s important is the commitment to get to a point of resolution of
these conflicts, and I see that commitment. But I do not doubt the
commitment, and I certainly appreciate the very strong position that
the Turkish Government has taken," Hillary Clinton told at a joint
press conference with the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in
Washington.

She has been very encouraged by the progress but acknowledged the
process is difficult and requires patience as well as perseverance,
according to the remarks published on the Web site of the U.S. State
Department.

Ankara cut diplomatic links with Yerevan and closed the border in a
show of support to Azerbaijan in 1993 after 20 percent of its
territory was invaded by Armenia in the disputed region — a frozen
conflict legacy of the Soviet Union known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

In late April Turkey and Armenia announced they agreed on a road map
for the normalization of the relations under Switzerland’s mediation.

Davutoglu thanked Clinton and the U.S. government support to the
processes of the normalization of the bilateral relations as well as
the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding Turkey is
optimistic to achieve a prosperous and peaceful Caucasia region.

"And in that sense, we are fully committed to our normalization
process with Armenia, and also, we are fully committed and we are
ready to work together with United States and other co-chairs of Minsk
Group for the resolution of Armenian-Azeri issues," he said.

The Minsk Group was set up in 1992 and is co-chaired by Russia, the
United States and France. Both normalization and resolution of
Nagorno-Karabakh issues run parallel.

NO DEAL WITH ISRAEL

Clinton rejected Israeli assertions that the Bush administration had
reached a binding agreement with Israel on Jewish settlements in the
occupied territories when asked about President Barack Obama’s speech
in Cairo.

We have the negotiating record, that is the official record that was
turned over to the Obama administration by the outgoing Bush
administration," Clinton added.

Since coming to office in January, Obama has repeatedly called on
Israel to halt all settlement activity in Palestinian areas, a demand
rejected by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.

The Israelis say they received commitments from the previous US
administration of President George W. Bush permitting some growth in
existing settlements.

They say the US position was laid out in a 2004 letter from Bush to
then Israeli premier Ariel Sharon.

Clinton rejected that claim, saying any such US stance was informal
and "did not become part of the official position of the United States
government."

She reiterated the US position that Israel is obliged to follow
commitments made in a so-called "road map" for peace negotiations with
the Palestinians which foresaw a halt to settlement activity.

"Those obligations are very clear," Clinton said.

More than 280,000 Israelis live in settlements dotted throughout the
West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 war, and their fate has
become a key early dispute between the young Obama and Netanyahu
governments.

Obama has notably demanded that Israel stop all its activity in the
settlements, including so-called "natural growth" construction that
allows for building to accommodate a rising population.