US Secretary of State on process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations
2009-06-06 15:32:00
ArmInfo. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has claimed of support
for the processes of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement and
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Hillary Clinton said
at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu on Friday.
As APA reports, The Secretary of State reminded that Turkey was among
the countries where she and President Obama made their first official
visits. She said US and Turkey were working together to solve number of
problems and there are new opportunities alongside with the problems.
"Both U.S. and Turkey have unique roles to play. We obviously already
collaborate. Not only we are both members of NATO but we are working
with G 20 to respond to the world global economic crisis. We are
exploring ways to enhance our trade and commerce between our two
countries. We are working to develop new energy sources including
resources from the Caucasus and Central Asia. We are partners in the
fight against terrorism". Clinton said US allied with Turkey in EU
membership efforts and struggling PKK. She said they were strongly
supportive of Turkish effort to normalize its relation with Armenia and
we also very strongly supportive of the efforts to resolve
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Secretary Clinton answered the question about the Turkish-Armenian
relations after the announcement of roadmap in April and possibility of
the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict soon. "I have been very
encouraged by the progress has been made and by the commitment of the
governments involved. Certainly Turkey and Armenia with the assistance
of Swiss government have committed themselves to the process of
normalization. We are well aware that it is difficult and requires
patience. But we are seen no flagging of commitment. The minister and I
discussed the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia at
length. He brought me up to date on developments. We are continuing to
encourage the parties to proceed on the path which they themselves have
set. Similarly with ongoing negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh. The
government of Azerbaijan and Armenia are proceeding and working
together. They just were together in Saint Petersburg. We believe a lot
of progress has been made in relatively short period of time to resolve
the issues which are long standing".
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu thanked the US government for
its support for both processes. "We are very optimistic. We want to
achieve a prosperous, peaceful Caucasus. 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-Azerbaijani issues".