U.S. DIPLOMAT WELCOMES READINESS OF ARMENIA TO NORMALISE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net - 03.11.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. "The Armenian President Robert Kocharian said to me that he welcomed the prospect of better relations with Turkey and a dialogue," the US State Department special advisor on the New Independent States, Ambassador Stephen R. Sestanovich, said to reporters in Ankara November 2 following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem.

Responding the question on whether the Armenian authorities are ready to undertake real steps for normalization of relations with Turkey, Sestanovich said: "I can't say whether they have any special ideas on this. They weren't communicated to me". Sestanovich stated that the discussions on this question in Yerevan were not really detailed ones. "I think there is a readiness and a welcoming attitude toward the possibility of better relations," the Ambassador said.

The US diplomat added that the US has stated repeatedly that it stands for normalization of relations between Yerevan and Ankara. "It's been our own policy - and Secretary Albright has herself said that it's a priority of the United States - to promote improved relations between Turkey and Armenia," Sestanovich said.

Ambassador Sestanovich underlined that the discussions in Baku and Yerevan were focused primarily on the US efforts to advance the diplomacy for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The diplomat also added that during the meeting with the Turkish authorities they had an opportunity to discuss Turkish and American policies in Central Asia and the Caucasus more broadly. "As allies we have broadly similar interests and parallel policies in these regions".--0--