On April 13, U.S. President Barack Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. Instead of the planned 20-minute meeting, it lasted for 45 minutes. The focal point of the talks was Armenia-Turkey normalization process.

The officials discussed the roadmap related to the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, Turkish Hurriyet daily reports referring to a diplomatic source.

Obama pledged to do his utmost to contribute to the active efforts of OSCE Minsk Group and the acceleration of Karabakh conflict settlement. Turkish FM and U.S. Secretary of State, who also attended the meeting agreed to proceed with the work in the Caucasus. For the first time foreign ministers canvassed the technical issues on the roadmap, that also includes Karabakh issue, stipulating for the simultaneous retreat of Armenian forces from Karabakh adjacent regions and border opening.

L.A.