U.S. READY TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 4, 2010

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. On February 4, RA President Serzh
Sargsyan received U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg
and the delegation accompanying him. U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State Philip Gordon, Ambassador of U.S. to RA Marie Yovanovitch,
other high-ranking officials are included in the delegation.

Greeting high-ranking guest’s visit to Armenia S. Sargsyan said:
"The Armenian-American relations are traditionally warm and friendly,
and such visits are very important from point of view of continuing
the dialogue between our countries."

Mentioning that a long time has passed since the previous meeting
S.Sargsyan stressed that important events have taken place in this
period, and this meeting is a very good occasion to sum up some
results and to move forward. In his words, a certain progress has been
recorded in the economic sphere. "In this period the U.S. has become
our fifth trade partner and the third partner on export, which is
too important for us. We have made certain legislative amendments,
which should also contribute to deepening of bilateral relations,"
S. Sargsyan emphasized.

James Steinberg, in his turn, mentioned that it is his second visit
to Armenia since he became Deputy Secretary of State. He reaffirmed
American side’s "readiness and wish to continue working over bilateral
and many-sided issues, including regional issues."

S. Sargsyan and J. Steinberg positively assessed the current condition
of Armenian-American relations in the respect of both volume and
efficiency mentioning that cooperation develops dynamically in
security, educational, cultural and other spheres. They also held
the same opinion that serious work should be done to expand trade
and economic contacts.

According to the RA President’s Press Office, the sides exchanged
thoughts over the normalization process of Armenia-Turkey relations.

The First U.S. Deputy Secretary of State highly assessed the efforts
Armenia made to solve the regional problems. He reaffirmed the fact
that the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations is very important
for the United States, and the U.S. is ready to continue supporting
the process. J. Steinberg once once more emphasized American side’s
position over RA Constitutional Court’s decision mentioning that it
is a positive step for continuing the process. The American diplomat
considered necessary manifestation of sides’ political will for
pushing forward the process.