US lawmakers urged Obama to support Turkey's reconciliation with Armenia

April 3, 2009 - 02:14 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - US lawmakers urged President Barack Obama to throw his weight behind Turkey's accession to the European Union and strongly support the NATO ally's reconciliation with Armenia, AFP reports.



"The United States must remain an iron clad supporter of Turkish membership in the EU," 29 Democrats and Republicans from the House of Representatives said in a letter to the president, who is bound for Turkey within days.



The lawmakers urged Obama to help Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government undertake the necessary political, economic and judicial reforms to join the European Union.



"We believe Turkey's success as a secular democracy that fully respects the rule of law and guarantees freedoms, civil, religious and human rights are in the interest of the Turkish people, the European Union and the United States," they said.



They also urged "unequivocal" US support for Turkey and Armenia's efforts at easing longstanding tensions.
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