Armenia-Turkey reconciliation and Nagorno-Karabakh issue were touched upon in the course of discussions on Turkey’s domestic and international policies held in U.S., Today’s Zaman reports.

According to the daily, Joost Lagendijk — former member of the European Parliament, commenting on Armenia-Turkey reconciliation process, stressed that “normalization would increase the EU’s ability to pressure Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.” However, Azeri diplomat present at the discussion noted that Armenia is “occupying” Azerbaijani territory.

In response Lagendijk stated that “Azerbaijan’s policy has not worked for the past 15 years,” the source reads. Lagendijk also criticized Turkish Premier Erdogan, saying he tried to link Armenia-Turkey relations with Karabakh peace process.

German Marshall Fund expert Ian Lesser also spoke about Turkey-U.S. relations, emphasizing that the “problem area” between Ankara and Washington “is in regards to Iran and Armenia.”