Azernews.Az

Deputy speaker of Azerbaijan's parliament has said Armenia has no legal right to open an international airport in Khankandi -- the center of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic run by ethnic Armenians in occupied Azerbaijani territories.

"We have repeatedly expressed our position on this issue," Ziyafat Asgarov told media on Thursday. "Armenia has repeatedly tried to do it, but for various reasons postponed opening of the airport. But if they try to go ahead, they will face Azerbaijan's appropriate response."

"No one can carry out such a project without Azerbaijan's consent," Asgarov said and also noted that Azerbaijan has informed international organizations on the matter.

Azerbaijan has banned use of the airspace of the Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, as no one can guarantee flight safety there, head of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, Arif Mammadov, told the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan party's website earlier.

He said the Armenian plans to operate the airport in Khankandi are attempts to violate international law, adding that given that this airspace belongs to Azerbaijan, its use by Armenia is out of the question.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) support Baku's stance on the issue.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has pledged to be the first passenger on a flight to Khankandi.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, defying international calls and UN resolutions. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the OSCE Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a pullout from Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.