Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan's government has strongly condemned the step towards commissioning of Khojaly airport in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region occupied by Armenian armed forces since a 1990s war.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said at a press conference on Monday that the move is dangerous, violates international law and harms the peaceful settlement of the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Khojaly is a town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, now under the control of the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic run by ethnic Armenians, which has not been recognized by the world community.

All international companies operating at the Khojaly airport must immediately stop their illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Abdullayev said. "Otherwise, the Azerbaijani side will take appropriate steps," he said.

According to reports, several international companies cooperating with the Armenian side are installing their equipment at the Khojaly airport, Abdullayev said. He added that one of the companies is French-German joint venture Thales.

"Khojaly airport has a big symbolic meaning for the Azerbaijani people. The airport was occupied on February 25, 1992, and immediately after that, the Armenian armed forces destroyed the town of Khojaly and committed genocide against its residents. The commissioning of the airport by the Armenian side is disrespectful to the memory of those Azerbaijanis killed there, and outraged the displaced persons [ousted from their homes during the war with Armenia]," Abdullayev said.

Armenia's intention to commission the airport in Khojaly is seen as an attempt to preserve the status quo, and any flight from the airport shows the continuation of the Armenian aggression.

613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 elderly, were killed during the genocide in Khojaly committed by Armenian forces on February 25-26, 1992. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 lost both. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.

Earlier, Armenian media reported about the commissioning of the airport in Khankandi, the center of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Head of the self-proclaimed republic's civil aviation body, Valeri Adbashyan, announced launching the airport in Khankandi in the Armenian press on October 1.

According to Orkhan Akbarov, who chairs the Coordination Council of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh, the attempts to commission the Khankandi airport considerably harm the negotiated settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

"National borders and airspace of Azerbaijan shall be inviolable, these borders cannot be used without permission from Azerbaijan. Any activity carried out by Armenia in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas is illegal," Akbarov said, adding that the Azerbaijani government is entitled to use any means to prevent illegal flights over the country's territory.

According to the Azerbaijani aviation body, Armenia's efforts to operate the airport in Nagorno-Karabakh are attempts to violate international law.

"Our position has not changed. All actions must comply with international law," the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration said.

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 Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, since a ceasefire was signed in 1994 following the brutal war.

Russia, France and the U.S., which co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, are brokering peace talks. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a pullout from the neighboring country's occupied territories.