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Azeri air traffic controllers not to receive aircraft flying to rebel region

12 November 2012 16:22 (UTC+04:00)
Azeri air traffic controllers not to receive aircraft flying to rebel region

Azerbaijani air traffic controllers will not deal with those planes flying to the airport in Khankandi -- the center of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic run by ethnic Armenians in occupied Azerbaijani territories, 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 over 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.

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. It violates international law and harms the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

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, he added.

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.

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