Azernews.Az

Special attention was not paid to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict at a recent meeting between the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four - Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary - and the member countries of the EU`s Eastern Partnership program in Prague, but unresolved conflicts were discussed in general, an EU official has said.

``We generally discussed the issue that the European Union claims to play a more active role in resolving such conflicts as Nagorno Karabakh,`` EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Stefan Fule, said in an interview with Armenia`s Azatutyun radio station.

``First and foremost, of course, this is the promotion of the Eastern Partnership program. It includes the countries involved in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In this respect, it provides an opportunity to find new ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries and open new doors.``

Fule said the EU should take steps to build confidence.

``We have clearly stated that we are ready to become part of a comprehensive and full solution…on the basis of the parties` consent,`` he said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, its neighbor in the South Caucasus region, fought a brutal war in the early 1990s. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since a fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994. Peace talks, brokered by US, Russian and French mediators through the OSCE Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.