Azernews.Az

BAKU – A senior US lawmaker known for her pro-Armenian stance has for the first time agreed to meet members of the Turkish community, diaspora representatives told the Baku-based APA news agency.

The meeting of House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who supports Armenian claims on World War I-era "genocide" in Ottoman Turkey, with the diaspora is expected to take place in the coming days.

"Though we are not expecting her to immediately alter her stance on certain issues, this meeting is crucial," says Turkish diaspora representative Mustafa Yilmaz. "This is an historic meeting for our communities."

Yilmaz said the diaspora will convey to Pelosi Turkey and Azerbaijan’s position on a host of issues that Armenia always interprets its own way.

"We will also speak to her about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the damage inflicted by the Armenians to Azerbaijan. We really hope to reach some mutual understanding and have the opportunity to hold more meetings in the future."

Armenians, who say Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million people in 1915, a claim strenuously dismissed by Turkey, have been seeking passage of a "genocide" bill in US Congress and continue trying to muster international support on the issue.

Azerbaijan, Turkey’s close ally, waged a war with neighboring Armenia in the early 1990s and 20 percent of its territory has been under Armenian occupation since a precarious cease-fire was signed in 1994.