Heading from Washington to Ankara, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the reporters that Armenia-Turkey reconciliation will be accelerated, if Armenian armed forces retreat from two Karabakh adjacent regions.

Erdogan informed that discussed issues related to Armenia and Iran with U.S. President Barack Obama, Turkish Star newspaper reports. “Obama met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan as well, that is why Secretary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will meet again. U.S. is a co-chairing state of OSCE Minsk Group. I held a 1.5-hour meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who also backs the continuation of the process. I told Mr. Sargsyan that we cannot walk out of the talks even in the hardest times. Armenia wishes the normalization without any preconditions. We are committed to our signature under the Protocols, however, there is a &‘peace in the region’ phrase in them. We see jeopardy in Armenian-Azerbaijani strained relations. If Armenians withdraw from two regions, the process will be accelerated,” Erdogan noted.

L.A.