Remarks With Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Before Their Meeting
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Waldorf-Astoria
New York City
September 28, 2009
SECRETARY CLINTON: (In progress) we’ve developed (inaudible) openness in what is often very difficult circumstances with the many challenges that we face. Good morning. Good morning. Well, this is a special privilege and pleasure.
FOREIGN MINISTER DAVUTOGLU: Same.
SECRETARY CLINTON: It represents the importance of the U.S.-Turkish partnership. And the foreign minister and I speak on a regular basis on a range of issues that are important, including energy and Turkey’s EU accession process and the normalization efforts with Armenia and the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East. There’s hardly an issue that we do not discuss.
And I very much appreciate the strong commitment that the Turkish Government has made to the Armenia normalization process, and I also am very grateful for the strong relationship that the United States and Turkey have had, which continues today.
So thank you so much, Minister, for being with us.
FOREIGN MINISTER DAVUTOGLU: Thank you very much, Madame Secretary. It is a great honor and privilege for me to meet with you again (inaudible). As has been described by President Obama, our relations (inaudible) model in the sense of (inaudible) both the depth and the scope of our relations, from Middle East to Central Asia, from EU to (inaudible) almost in all fields, and recently this year we are also member of United Nations Security Council (inaudible) another area of cooperation. So therefore we need to talk and consult (inaudible). We have been doing this by phone, through (inaudible) several occasions. Thank you very much again.
Remarks With Armenian Foreign Minister H.E. Edward Nalbandian After Their Meeting
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
New York City
September 28, 2009
FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: I am very pleased to have this opportunity to meet with the foreign minister. He and I have talked on the phone. I have watched his very diligent and effective efforts over the last months that I’ve had the privilege of being the Secretary of State. And I want to reiterate our very strong support for the normalization process that is going on between Armenia and Turkey, which we have long said should take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.
We will continue to work closely with the foreign minister and, of course, with his president and the Government of Armenia. And we also are very committed to the democratic development of Armenia. We want to be a partner and a friend in increasing prosperity and economic development as well. So this is a comprehensive relationship. We are very focused on this challenge of normalization which Armenia has demonstrated great commitment to, yet our relationship is much broader and much deeper in addition to that.
FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN: Thank you, Madame Secretary. It’s my pleasure to meet again in the United States and to meet with you, Madame Secretary, and this is a good opportunity to discuss a wide range of the issues on our bilateral agenda and international issues and specifically in our region, Turkish-Armenian normalization (inaudible).
SECRETARY CLINTON: Indeed.
FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN: Thank you very much for this (inaudible).
In the pictures below, you see her with the Turkish delegation seated at the table. The handsome gent in the bilateral pictures is Dr. Spanta. We have no pictures at the moment of FM Nalbandian. Neither have we found a press release with remarks with Dr. Spanta. As these become available, we hope to add them here.
