Clinton urges Turkey to work revive stalled Armenian rapprochement process

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday praised the Armenian government for its willingness to move toward normalization with Turkey and suggested that the ball was in Turkey's court to revitalize the rapprochement process, while urging Ankara to overcome its reluctance to reopen the border between the two countries, closed due to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Yet Ankara took exception, telling how the process was largely stalled due to the domestic policy concerns of the Armenian administration. Turkish officials also reiterated that a partial normalization in the Caucasus is not sustainable if the parties don't work for complete normalization. Clinton's remarks came on a weekend visit to Armenia, on a regional tour including Azerbaijan, and she delivered identical messages in both countries: Washington will do its part to help end the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between the two countries, violence serves no one, and a resolution would bring prosperity and stability to the Caucasus. "We urge Turkey to take the steps that it promised to take and that both sides continue to try to find the opportunity to open the door to reconciliation and normalization," Clinton told reporters in Yerevan after talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. "Partial solutions to regional problems will bring neither peace, stability nor a sustainable resolution in the long-term," Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said when asked about Clinton's remarks.