Clinton meets with Armenian top diplomat

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian have discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

At a meeting on Thursday evening in London, Clinton reaffirmed U.S. support for ongoing efforts to normalize ties between Armenia and Turkey.

Turkey and Armenia signed last October historic accords aimed at ending a century of hostility between the two nations, including opening borders and establishing diplomatic relations.

Clinton, in London for an international conference on Afghanistan, also said the U.S. would continue to lend every support to Armenia in its democratic development.

The secretary of state also hailed the Nagorny Karabakh peace process. Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday agreed a preamble to an agreement on Nagorny Karabakh revising and updating the OSCE Madrid principles.

The Madrid principles, adopted in November 2007, envisage a stage-by-stage resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict that should start with the gradual liberation of parts of Azerbaijan bordering Karabakh that were partly or fully occupied by Karabakh Armenian forces during the 1991-94 war.

In return, Karabakh should retain a corridor to Armenia and be able to determine its final status in a future referendum.

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