US: normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations should be completed within a reasonable timeframe

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to continue to press for an unconditional normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations which he believes should be completed within a "reasonable timeframe." Obama hailed the U.S.-backed dialogue between the two nations as "historic," in a letter to Hirair Hovnanian, Chairman of the Armenian Assembly of America.



"We will continue to vigorously support the normalization effort in the months ahead," he said.



The letter dated November 20 came in response to a September 9 joint appeal to Obama from Hovnanian and the leaders of the Armenian General Benevolent Union and two U.S dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The signatories voiced support for the fence-mending Turkish-Armenian agreements and said Washington should get Ankara to stop linking their implementation with a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favored by Azerbaijan, ArmeniaDiaspora.com reports.