April 24, 2009 - 13:06 AMT
U.S. Vice President welcomes Armenian-Turkish agreement
Vice President Joe Biden Thursday called Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and "welcomed" the Armenian-Turkish agreement on a roadmap to normalize their relations, his office said.

"The Vice President spoke today with Armenian President Sargsyan 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 Sargsyan's leadership, and underscored the U.S. Administrations firm support for both Armenia and Turkey in this process," it added.

The Turkish foreign ministry announced Wednesday that it had agreed to a "road map" on normalizing relations with Yerevan, as they try to put a bloody past behind them.

U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Wednesday the United U.S. had long sought for normal relations between Ankara and Yerevan "to take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe," the RA MFA press office reported.