Azernews.Az

Head of the EU office in Azerbaijan Roland Kobia has urged the belligerents of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to comply with international law, while commenting on Armenia's illegal plans for the opening of the Khojaly airport in Azerbaijani occupied territories.

"We have expressed our opinion on the opening of the airport in Khojaly and call on both parties to refrain from actions that will lead to an escalation of tension," ambassador Kobia told media on Monday.

He added the EU strongly supports the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Earlier, Armenian media reported on the commissioning of the airport at Khojaly in the near future.

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

Azerbaijan has banned the use of the airspace over Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia, as no one can guarantee a safe air corridor in the area, the head of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, Arif Mammadov said earlier.

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

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 Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

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