WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Turkey experiences democratization regarding debates over Armenian issue in history.
Rice spoke at a committee meeting in the U.S. House of Representatives under insistent questions by a Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff who prepared a bill on so-called Armenian genocide.
"What we`ve encouraged the Turks and the Armenians to do is to have joint historical commissions that can look at this, to have efforts to examine their past, and in examining their past to get over it," Rice said.
"I do not think it helps that process of reconciliation for the United States to enter this debate at that level," she added.
Rice supported Turkey`s arguments saying history should be examined by historians.
Schiff reminded that Hrant Dink (Turkish-Armenian editor of a bilingual weekly) was killed, Nobel-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk was tried in Turkey and claimed that Turkey does not have any efforts for reconciliation.
Rice responded to Schiff saying that Turkish people staged demonstrations and embraced Armenians after killing of Dink. Rice also stated that there is an ongoing evolution in Turkey which she called a good ally.