OBAMA, ERDOGAN DISCUSS ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT

news.az
April 15 2010
Azerbaijan

Barack Obama US President Barack Obama met Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 13 April in Washington.

The meeting lasted for 45 minutes with the sides discussing
Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, the Karabakh problem and the Iranian
nuclear issue.

According to diplomatic sources, Barack Obama promised Erdogan to
spare no effort for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, Turkish
newspaper Hurriyet reports.

‘I will do everything possible to settle the Karabakh conflict,’
Hurriyet reported Obama as saying.

Karabakh was not mentioned, however, in the White House report of
the meeting.

‘President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan met
yesterday during the Nuclear Security Summit and affirmed the
strategic partnership between their countries,’ the White House report
said. ‘The leaders discussed their joint interest in achieving the
nonproliferation goals of the summit and in ensuring that Iran does
not pose a nuclear threat to the world.’

‘The president relayed his continuing support and appreciation for
Prime Minister Erdogan’s efforts on normalization of relations with
Armenia, and encouraged him to continue forward toward ratification
of the protocols for the benefit of future generations,’ the White
House report concluded.

Hurriyet reported that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu agreed at their two meetings
to cooperate on the resolution of problems in the Caucasus.

The sides also agreed to coordinate a roadmap to normalize
Armenian-Turkish relations which would include the resolution of
the Karabakh conflict, the withdrawal of the occupying troops from
Azerbaijani land and the opening of borders, diplomatic sources said,
according to Hurriyet.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress