US lawmakers express readiness to contribute to Armenia-Turkey thaw

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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"As members of Congress who agree that lasting Armenian-Turkish rapprochement should be a top priority for the United States, please know we are ready to assist your nations efforts to normalize relations and build a better future for generations of Armenians and Turks," AP quoted the U.S. lawmakers as writing Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan.

Ankara and Yerevan have agreed on the major parameters of a historic reconciliation in secret talks to start diplomatic relations and re-open their shared border, which Turkey closed in 1993 after Armenia occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region, sources told Hurriyet Daily News earlier.

Representatives Robert Wexler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ike Skelton, the chairman of the House Armed Service Committee, John Murtha, who has close ties to the Pentagon, and Alcee Hastings, co-chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, were among the group who penned the letter.

"It is essential that the building blocks of trust and cooperation are established between Armenia and Turkey to heal open wounds, mend broken hearts and create a better future for both nations and peoples," the group, all Democratic allies of U.S. President Barack Obama, said in the letter.

"This process is difficult and at times painful, but we remain hopeful that ongoing bilateral engagement will lead to a positive breakthrough that forever changes the dynamics of the region and opens the door to new possibilities and brighter futures for Armenia and Turkey," they added.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations and their border has been closed for more than a decade as Armenia presses the international community with the backing of the diaspora to admit the so-called "genocide" claims, instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations, and over Armenia's invasion of 20 percent territory of Azerbaijan.

A warmer period began in relations when Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid a landmark visit to Yerevan last year to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between the two countries. Both have been holding contacts at the ministerial level since.