EU hails 'crucial step' in Turkey-Armenia dispute

(BRUSSELS) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday hailed an agreement between Armenia and Turkey to establish diplomatic ties as a "crucial step" towards ending their decades-long grudge.

"I welcome yesterday's agreement between Turkey and Armenia to start internal political consultations... for establishing diplomatic relations," Solana said in a statement.

"This is a crucial step towards normalisation of bilateral relations, which would greatly contribute to peace, security and stability throughout an important region of Europe," he added.

Armenia and Turkey announced on Monday that they had agreed on a plan to establish diplomatic ties and re-open their joint border.

The two countries currently have no diplomatic relations, a closed frontier and a long history of hostility rooted in massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Turks during World War I.

Ankara and Yerevan said they would hold six weeks of domestic consultations before signing two protocols on establishing diplomatic ties and developing bilateral relations.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, also welcomed the diplomatic progress made.

"This agreement should contribute to peace and stability in the South Caucasus," EU commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Olli Rehn said in a separate statement.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe "warmly" welcomed the deal between the two OSCE members.

"The establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia will be a positive step not only for the southern Caucasus region but also for the region at-large," said Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, whose country currently holds the OSCE presidency.

Russia hailed the "goodwill" of former Soviet state Armenia and Turkey in moving towards normal relations.

Moscow "considers the goodwill of Armenia and Turkey positive in starting the process" to establish diplomatic ties, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkey has long refused to establish diplomatic links with Armenia over Yerevan's efforts to have the World War I-era massacres recognised as genocide -- a label Turkey strongly rejects.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, Turkey's predecessor, was falling apart.

Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label and says between 300,000 and 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians took up arms in eastern Anatolia and sided with invading Russian troops.