Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

A group of French senators have sent a letter to Azerbaijan's state news agency AzerTAc expressing their objection to operating flights to and from Khojaly airport in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation.

"We, senators of France, are very concerned over opening of the Khojaly airport," the letter said.

The lawmakers noted that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's announcement on opening of the Khojaly airport shortly before the February 18 presidential elections is not accidental.

In their letter, the French Senate members expressed their regret over this information, "which is further straining already tense relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia."

The French senators wrote that the town of Khojaly, which was exposed to pains and sufferings of the 1990s war, is internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

"This information aims to draw people of Azerbaijan into enmity, as well as is understood as an attempt to violate the international law. It also impedes the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group [brokering peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia] and slows down the peace process," the letter said.

The letter was signed by Nathalie Goulet, Vice-President of the France-Caucusus group, Jean-Marie Bockel, a senator of Haut-Rhin, Andre Reichardt, a senator from Bas-Rhin, and Jeanny Lorgeoux, a senator from Loir-et-Cher.

Besides, Bundestag member, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Katherina Reiche, criticized the Armenian government's plans to reopen the Khojaly airport in the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh. "That would violate the integrity of Azerbaijani airspace," the MP said.

"Withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh is long overdue," Reiche said responding to the European Azerbaijan Society's question on Armenia's illegal plans.

Earlier, Armenian media reported that the airport in Khojaly is to be commissioned in the near future.

Commissioning the airport in Khojaly is an open violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation adopted on December 7, 1944 in Chicago, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said earlier.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) support the position of Azerbaijan on the issue.

Reiche emphasized that the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly demanded an Armenian pullout in its resolutions.

"Germany and the European Union also agree on this issue. During the so-called presidential elections in Nagorno-Karabakh on July 19, 2012 Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security (Policy), declared plainly that the elections were not recognized by the European Union," Reiche said.

She said Germany's position is clear.

"Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the occupation must end. With the end of the occupation new perspectives will emerge for the many refugees. We are working closely with Azerbaijan in order to establish stability and security in the South Caucasus," the German MP said.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh constitutes the biggest challenge, she noted.

"A peaceful resolution is in the interests of all nations in the region. Cooperation within the international community on the peace process is especially important for Germany," Reiche said.

"The United Nations, European Union and OSCE have followed the process of a search for a peaceful solution for a very long time. Setbacks on the road to peace must be avoided," she added.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two countries 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.

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

Peace negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.