ATHENS, (Reuters) - France said on Tuesday it hoped the years-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh would be resolved "in months".

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said during a meeting of Europe's main security body he was confident a deal could be reached. The Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has picked up the pace this year to clinch a peace agreement.

"In a peace process it is very difficult to force the door or to push too hard because this is very fragile," he told reporters. "I am confident it will be done. Immediately? No. In the coming months? Yes."

France, Russia and the United States form OSCE's Minsk group, which is leading peace negotiations. On Tuesday, they met the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers in Athens and issued a statement saying progress had been made.

"They stated the willingness of their countries to complete the work," said the statement read by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "They reaffirmed their commitment to work intensively to resolve the remaining issues."

Tensions over the breakaway mountain region are rising, with oil-producing Azerbaijan angry at a deal between ally Turkey and Armenia to open their border, 16 years after Ankara closed it in solidarity with Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Turkey says it will only go through with its deal with Armenia if the latter makes concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh, where ethnic Armenians backed by Christian Armenia broke away from Muslim Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union headed towards its 1991 collapse.

Some 30,000 people died and more than one million were made homeless before a ceasefire was declared in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993. The territory wants recognition as an independent state, but without a full peace deal sporadic exchanges of fire continue to threaten fresh conflict.

The rebel territory lies at the heart of the South Caucasus, a strategic crossroads and key transit region for oil and gas, where Russia and the West are vying for influence. (Reporting by Dina Kyriakidou and Ingrid Melander) (( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; +30 210 337 6438; Reuters Messaging: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ))

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