Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Armenian airline Narekavank Tour said that the Turkish Directorate General of Civil Aviation has frozen the Van-Yerevan-Van direct flights, Armenian Mediamax news agency reported on Friday.

The statements over the opening of the Van-Yerevan direct flights earlier caused concerns of Azerbaijani officials, as well as some organizations.

Deputy chairman of Azerbaijan`s ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP) Ali Ahmadov said earlier that the opening of the Van-Yerevan flight doesn't correspond to Turkey's position concerning the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia.

"We are against easing of relations between Turkey and Armenia while Azerbaijani lands are under occupation," Ahmadov said.

Ahmadov said Turkish authorities have repeatedly made statements at the highest level on impossibility of easing of the Armenian-Turkish relations as long as Azerbaijani territories are under the occupation.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov commented that the flight is planned to be made by a private company and it is not clear whether these flights will be profitable and the required number of passengers chooses to fly.

Expressing Turkey's position on the issue, the ambassador of Turkey to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Joshgun said that the opening of a flight to Armenia by a private company should not discredit Turkey's official position.

He said this flight is operated by a private Turkish company and there are no legal restrictions on such a service in Turkey, so its implementation is possible.

Earlier, several media outlets reported that Turkish private airline Bora Jet plans to begin carrying out Van-Yerevan flights in April.