ANKARA (Today's Zaman)-US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey Friday reiterated his administration's position that Armenia's Constitutional Court ruling on the Armenia-Turkey Protocols gave a green light to normalization efforts between Yerevan and Ankara.

"Certain statements in the Constitutional Court's ruling have made Turkey uncomfortable; however, we consider that decision to be positive and see no restrictive clauses in that. We believe that both parties approach their obligations assumed under the Protocols seriously," said Jeffrey.

Jeffrey made his remarks in an interview with the Turkish Sabah newspaper. The American diplomat spoke about the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations, the Armenian court's decision, issues relating to the recently banned Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), and the Turkish occupation of Cyprus.

Asked whether the Protocols "are dead," Jeffrey said, "No. Nothing's dead. With its decision, the Armenian Constitutional Court gave a green light to ratifying the Protocols." He added that there are no restrictive clauses in the court's ruling.

"We are working with Turkey every day," he said, adding also that Washington is "attempting to make progress in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

The main roadblock to the normalization of relations in recent months has, however, been Ankara's insistence that Armenia must agree to settle the Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan's favor before Turkey's parliament can ratify the fence-mending agreements.

"In truth, those are two separate processes," Jeffrey said. "However, Turkey doesn't see it that way. There are a number of conflicts that must be resolved in the Caucasus. They can move forward in different speeds, but they're all important. They are parallel processes."