“The three leaders of a group of pro-Turkish lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives late Wednesday voiced full support for a protocol recently signed by Armenia and Turkey aimed at normalizing relations between the two neighbors,” Hurriyet daily reports.

“It is our understanding that the 'Protocol for the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey' confirms the decision of the two governments to open their shared borders and to establish full diplomatic relations once the protocols enter into force,” said Robert Wexler (D.), Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Kay Granger (R-TX), the Congressmen and Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkish relations in their joint letter to all 435 members of the House of Representatives.

“We are heartened by the significant progress made by Armenia and Turkey toward normalizing their bilateral relations. This historic development between Armenia and Turkey is critical to ensuring peace, security and prosperity in the South Caucasus region,” the letter reads.

“Unfortunately, this is a region where decades-long conflicts have long overshadowed bilateral cooperation and engagement, limiting economic growth, stability and political reform,” letter says.

“To that end, we strongly encourage both the Armenian and Turkish governments and their respective parliaments to continue to move the rapprochement process forward under the good offices of the Swiss government and build a better future for Armenia, Turkey and the entire South Caucasus region,” the three lawmakers stated.

“Pro-Armenian lawmakers in the House, for their part, are working to pass a resolution qualifying the Armenian killings as ‘genocide’,” the document concludes.