Vice President Joe Biden reaffirmed the strong U.S. support for Armenia’s and Turkey’s efforts to improve their relations in a phone call with President Serzh Sarkisian late on Thursday, the second in four days.
"The Vice President spoke today with Armenian President Sarkisian and welcomed Armenia and Turkey's statement regarding their commitment to normalize their relations," Biden's office said in a statement.
"The Vice President applauded President Sarkisian's leadership, and underscored the [U.S.] Administration’s firm support for both Armenia and Turkey in this process," it added.
Biden referred to Ankara’s and Yerevan’s announcement the previous night that they have agreed on a “roadmap” for normalizing bilateral ties after an almost year of intensive negotiations. “The Washington Post” cited on Thursday U.S. officials as saying that the administration of President Barack Obama has been “quietly working to push the agreement forward.” The U.S. State Department welcomed the Turkish-Armenian statement immediately after its release.
Biden already phoned Sarkisian late Monday to discuss with him the Turkish-Armenian negotiations. A short statement issued by Sarkisian’s office the next day gave no details of that discussion. The office did not report Biden’s latest phone call at all.
Both the current and previous U.S. administrations have strongly supported and welcomed the thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations that began shortly after Sarkisian took office in April 2008. Obama urged the two neighboring states to complete their fence-mending talks when he visited Turkey earlier this month.
The Turkish-Armenian announcement came on the eve of the annual commemoration of the mass killings and deportations of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Obama is under strong pressure from the Armenian-American community and its backers in the U.S. Congress to make good on his election campaign pledge to describe the massacres as genocide. Analysts believe that the announced “roadmap” made it easier for him to avoid publicly using the word “genocide.”
One of the unnamed U.S. officials cited by “The Washington Post” admitted that the timing of the Turkish-Armenian statement had “something to do with it." The official said at the same time that the tentative accord was not a "last-minute panicky thing."
"The Vice President applauded President Sarkisian's leadership, and underscored the [U.S.] Administration’s firm support for both Armenia and Turkey in this process," it added.
Biden referred to Ankara’s and Yerevan’s announcement the previous night that they have agreed on a “roadmap” for normalizing bilateral ties after an almost year of intensive negotiations. “The Washington Post” cited on Thursday U.S. officials as saying that the administration of President Barack Obama has been “quietly working to push the agreement forward.” The U.S. State Department welcomed the Turkish-Armenian statement immediately after its release.
Biden already phoned Sarkisian late Monday to discuss with him the Turkish-Armenian negotiations. A short statement issued by Sarkisian’s office the next day gave no details of that discussion. The office did not report Biden’s latest phone call at all.
Both the current and previous U.S. administrations have strongly supported and welcomed the thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations that began shortly after Sarkisian took office in April 2008. Obama urged the two neighboring states to complete their fence-mending talks when he visited Turkey earlier this month.
The Turkish-Armenian announcement came on the eve of the annual commemoration of the mass killings and deportations of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Obama is under strong pressure from the Armenian-American community and its backers in the U.S. Congress to make good on his election campaign pledge to describe the massacres as genocide. Analysts believe that the announced “roadmap” made it easier for him to avoid publicly using the word “genocide.”
One of the unnamed U.S. officials cited by “The Washington Post” admitted that the timing of the Turkish-Armenian statement had “something to do with it." The official said at the same time that the tentative accord was not a "last-minute panicky thing."