EU urges progress in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

(BAKU) - Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos called on Europe's behalf Tuesday for progress in peace talks on the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region and in reconciliation efforts between Armenia and Turkey.

Visiting arch-rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan, Moratinos -- whose country holds the six-month rotating European Union presidency -- said the EU wants to see "a quick settlement" in the conflict over Karabakh.

"If both countries show good will, this conflict can be settled peacefully. We should use all possibilities and resources to resolve this conflict," he said after talks in Baku with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.

Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian forces seized control of Nagorny Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.

The two countries have failed to negotiate a settlement on Karabakh and tensions remain high, with the defence ministry in Yerevan saying Tuesday that an Armenian soldier had been killed in fighting near the disputed region.

Moratinos earlier Tuesday met with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian in Yerevan, where he called on Turkey and Armenia to speed up stalled reconciliation efforts by ratifying two protocols they signed in October to establish diplomatic ties and reopen a shared border.

"The EU urges Armenia and Turkey to ratify the protocols in a reasonable time and without preconditions," Moratinos said.

The signing of the deals was hailed internationally as a key step in overcoming decades of enmity stemming from World War I-era massacres of Armenians under Ottoman Turks.

But ratification by both countries' parliaments has stalled as the two sides have traded accusations of trying to modify the deal.

Moratinos was also due to visit Georgia Wednesday as part of a two-day visit to the volatile South Caucasus region on behalf of EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.