During a visit to Ankara, William Burns, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, highlighted, “Turkey is our ally, and U.S. support the rapprochement process between Turkey and Armenia and in searching ways to resolve the world and regional problems.”

In Turkey, Mr. Burns had a meeting with Foreign Minister Davutoglu, Deputy Chief of Defense, General Aslan Guner, and Foreign Ministry Under Secretary Feridun Sinirlioglu.

“Our meetings were quite productive and extensive and covered a number of regional issues of mutual concern. Foremost among these issues were the international community's concern over Iran's nuclear program, our cooperation in Afghanistan and Iraq, our common interest in promoting Arab-Israeli peace, our shared commitment in the fight against terrorism,” William Burns said.

He also mentioned that the efforts of the Minsk Group for resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were discussed.

William Burns' visit aims at expediting the ratification of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols in Turkey's parliament, according to CNN-Turk.

After his visit to Ankara, the U.S. official will head for Azerbaijan, where he’ll meet with the country’s leadership.