Azernews.Az

BAKU – The opening of an airport illegally rebuilt in the Armenia-occupied Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, scheduled for May 9, has been postponed, the separatist authorities have reportedly said, following Azerbaijan's repeated warnings.

David Babayan, the spokesman for the leader of the self-proclaimed republic run by ethnic Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh, said the airport in Khankandi, the rebel region’s center, is ready for opening but it has been put off for "technical reasons", Kavkazskiy Uzel news website said.

"This is a very complicated process, and the building must be completely ready to avoid any technical errors. But the airport will definitely open this year," Babayan said.

He claimed that the delay had no bearing on the Azerbaijani government's warnings against the airport opening.

Baku said earlier that it has told the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that the occupied territories' airspace was a no-fly zone and any flights would be unauthorized. Azerbaijan's Civil Aviation Administration said that according to the law on aviation, it is possible to shoot down airplanes violating Azerbaijan's airspace.

The airport has been closed since the outbreak of the Karabakh war, which saw ethnic Armenian forces backed by Yerevan occupy the region. Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned it could use force to regain its occupied territories if the ongoing peace talks remain fruitless.