Daniel Fried: "Turkey needs to come to terms with a dark chapter in its history and Armenia must be ready to disavow any claim on the territory of modern Turkey"

"The status quo is not helpful to anyone. The United States supports the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border".

According to Fried, "both countries would greatly benefit from increased, direct trade with the other, connecting their electrical grids, and implementing other measures natural to neighbors".

"The U.S. also supports more cross-border dialogue and cooperation between the people of Armenia and Turkey through research initiatives, conferences, and exchange programs.", Fried went on.

But reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey, however, "will require dealing with sensitive, painful issues".

"Turkey needs to come to terms with a dark chapter in its history: the mass killings and forced exile of up to 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire. That will not be easy, just as it has not been easy for the United States to come to terms with dark periods of our own past. For its part, Armenia must be ready to acknowledge the existing border and disavow any claim on the territory of modern Turkey, and respond constructively to any efforts Turkey may make".

/Novosti-Armenia/