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CLINTON: ROADMAP IS HISTORICAL STEP
Today's Zaman
April 30 2009
Turkey
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lauded as a historical step
the roadmap agreed by Turkey and Armenia in the ongoing process to
normalize ties between the two neighbors.
Clinton recently had a phone conversation with Armenian Minister of
Foreign Affairs Eduard Nalbandian in which she urged him to move
forward with the roadmap in an effort to normalize relations, the
Armenian Mediamax new agency reported.
The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement started with President Abdullah
Gul's visit to Yerevan in September 2008 for a World Cup qualifying
match between the soccer teams of the two countries. This visit
was then followed by diplomatic talks in which a breakthrough in the
long-standing crisis between the neighbors emerged. These efforts drew
praise from various parties, including the European Union, the Council
of Europe and US. President Barack Obama, who expressed satisfaction
with the roadmap in a commemorative address delivered on April 24.
Clinton also talked about the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis with Nalbandian
and said she also expects the sides to take a step forward on the
issue. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war over the region in the
early 1990s that ended with Armenian occupation of the region and the
surrounding seven Azerbaijani districts. Turkey then closed its border
with Armenia in solidarity with Azerbaijan's cause. Azerbaijan demands
the evacuation of the entire region and the surrounding districts
which, Baku argues, then need to be resettled by Azerbaijani migrants.
Today's Zaman
April 30 2009
Turkey
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lauded as a historical step
the roadmap agreed by Turkey and Armenia in the ongoing process to
normalize ties between the two neighbors.
Clinton recently had a phone conversation with Armenian Minister of
Foreign Affairs Eduard Nalbandian in which she urged him to move
forward with the roadmap in an effort to normalize relations, the
Armenian Mediamax new agency reported.
The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement started with President Abdullah
Gul's visit to Yerevan in September 2008 for a World Cup qualifying
match between the soccer teams of the two countries. This visit
was then followed by diplomatic talks in which a breakthrough in the
long-standing crisis between the neighbors emerged. These efforts drew
praise from various parties, including the European Union, the Council
of Europe and US. President Barack Obama, who expressed satisfaction
with the roadmap in a commemorative address delivered on April 24.
Clinton also talked about the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis with Nalbandian
and said she also expects the sides to take a step forward on the
issue. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war over the region in the
early 1990s that ended with Armenian occupation of the region and the
surrounding seven Azerbaijani districts. Turkey then closed its border
with Armenia in solidarity with Azerbaijan's cause. Azerbaijan demands
the evacuation of the entire region and the surrounding districts
which, Baku argues, then need to be resettled by Azerbaijani migrants.