Obama, Gul discuss Armenia, Cyprus in phone call

US President Barack Obama discussed developments in the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, as well as the Cyprus issue, in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul over the weekend. The two leaders spoke about the "historic progress" being made to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia, as well as the importance of maintaining the momentum in this important effort, said a White House statement. Ankara and Yerevan recently signed historic deals backed by world powers to end decades of hostility, establish official ties, and open their border. Obama and Gul also discussed the need for sustained engagement in resolving the Cyprus problem and in promoting stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the White House said. "The two presidents agreed on the importance of continued consultations on these and other key topics on the global security agenda," said the statement. Another issue discussed was the situation in Afghanistan, the statement added, as Obama weighs whether to step up the US effort there. Obama expressed appreciation for Turkey's contributions, and the two leaders agreed to work closely together in the critical weeks ahead, the White House said. The telephone conversation covered a range of issues, reflecting the broad strategic dialogue the US conducts with its "key ally" Turkey, the statement said. In related news, in a televised interview yesterday, Gul said that thanks to the reconciliation talks between Turkey and Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has become one of the world's top issues. "For years this issue had been ignored," he said. "But now it's getting the attention of major world powers. There are some important developments towards a solution to this issue, but they can't be made public at the moment." He added that the US and Russia share similar views on the issue. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Washington late this month at the invitation of Obama, and solving Nagorno-Karabaksh is expected to be one of their top topics of discussion.