Spain's Moratinos to visit S. Caucasus for EU

(MADRID) - Spain's foreign minister will visit Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia this week on behalf of EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, the government said Sunday.

Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, will travel to Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday and Georgia on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Peace and stability in the South Caucasus are of particular interest to the European Union, which is closely following the process of normalising relations between Armenia and Turkey and the situation in the enclave of Nagorny Karabakh and the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," it said.

"These issues, as well as those related to energy, will form part of the dialogue to be established by minister Moratinos" with officials in the three countries.

His visit will be "on behalf of" Ashton, who became the 27-nation bloc's foreign affairs chief late last year, to convey the message that the three countries are "priorities for the EU", the statement said.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in October to establish diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border, in a historic step towards ending decades of hostility stemming from World War I-era massacres of Armenians.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are embroiled in a long-simmering conflict over the Nagorny Karabakh region.

Georgia's Russian-backed rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia were the focus of an open conflict between Moscow and Tblisi in 2008.

Russia has recognised the two territories as independent states, a move so far followed by only a handful of countries.