During a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.

The two leaders talked about “historic progress” that is being made to normalize relations between longtime foes Turkey and Armenia and stressed the importance of intensifying necessary efforts, reported Associated Press.

A high-ranking official of the U.S. Department of State, who was member of the U.S. delegation led by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Zurich ceremony, told Associated Press that the United State is interested in the Armenian-Turkish border being reopened for the primary reason that it will open a way to Afghanistan.

U.S. President Barack Obama intends to state again the necessity of ratifying the Armenia-Turkey Protocols signed in Zurich on October 10 as soon as possible, a high-ranking European diplomat told NEWS.am.

During his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 19, President Obama intends to voice the U.S. position: linking the ratification with other issues is fraught with a breakdown of the Armenia-Turkey normalization process, which is unacceptable. Moreover, if the voting fails in the Turkish Parliament, Erdogan may be relieved of his post, as Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s position is ratifying the protocols in the near future without any preconditions, including ones related to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.