The United States urges Armenia and Turkey to continue efforts at reconciliation and supports Yerevan's decision to put the process on hold, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said on Friday.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on Thursday that put the ratification of Armenian-Turkish protocols on hold, declaring that his country would wait until Ankara showed it was ready to normalize relations.
"President Sargsyan's announcement makes clear that Armenia has not ended the process but has suspended it until the Turkish side is ready to move forward. We applaud President Sargsyan's decision to continue to work towards a vision of peace, stability, and reconciliation," Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon was quoted as saying on the embassy website.
"We believe that the normalization process carries important benefits for Turkey and Armenia as well as the wider Caucasus region. We continue to urge both sides to keep the door open to pursuing efforts at reconciliation and normalization," Gordon added.
Sargsyan said on Thursday that he had discussed the move with the French, U.S. and Russian presidents, as well as with other partners.
"I won't hide that our partners called on me to continue the process, not to quit it," he said.
He stressed that Armenia still wanted to establish full diplomatic relations with Turkey, and would return to the issue when there was an "appropriate atmosphere" and corresponding readiness in Ankara.
Long strained relations between Armenia and Turkey took a major step forward on October 10, 2009, when Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Devutoglu signed protocols on establishing diplomatic relations and developing bilateral relations.
The documents, signed in Switzerland, have to be ratified by both countries to come into force.
The Armenian-Turkish border was closed in 1993 on Ankara's initiative. Bilateral relations between the countries are complicated by Turkey's support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh and differing positions on the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I, which Ankara consistently denies.
YEREVAN, April 23 (RIA Novosti)
