DEPUTY SPEAKER: AZERBAIJANI AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS NOT TO RECEIVE AIRCRAFTS FLYING TO KHANKENDI
Trend
Nov 12 2012
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani air traffic controllers will not deal with those planes
flying to Khankendi airport, first deputy speaker of the Azerbaijani
Parliament Ziyafat Asgarov said at an event at the High Oil School,
dedicated to the Azerbaijani Day of the Constitution.
He added that Armenia has recently spread provocative statements
relating to this airport.
“Khankendi airport has been rebuilt, but not yet been put into
operation,” he said. “Yerevan uses various pretexts to start its
operation, but is well aware that Azerbaijan will not allow this
to happen.”
He stressed that the Azerbaijani relevant bodies are working on the
matter, so parliament does not see the need for any further discussion.
Earlier, Armenian media reported the commissioning of the airport
in Khankendi.
The action towards the commissioning of Khojaly airport in
Nagorno-Karabakh is dangerous. It violates international law and
harms the peaceful settlement of the conflict.
Previously, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry urged all international
companies operating in Khojaly airport to immediately stop their
illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
“Otherwise, the Azerbaijani side will take the appropriate steps,”
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said earlier.
Commissioning the airport in Khankendi is an open violation of the
Convention on International Civil Aviation.
Azerbaijan has banned the use of the airspace of Nagorno-Karabakh
occupied by Armenia, as no one can guarantee a safe air corridor in
the area, the head of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration,
Arif Mammadov said earlier.
He said Armenia’s steps directed towards the operation of the airport
in Khankendi are attempts to violate international legal norms. This
air space belongs to Azerbaijan, so its use by Armenia is impossible.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European
Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) also support the position of
Azerbaijan on this issue.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.