Azernews.Az

The policies pursued by the Heritage Party chairman Raffi Hovannisyan in Armenia primarily aim at his representation in the government, and at the same time, maintenance of his leadership in the opposition camp, Director of the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) under the President of Azerbaijan Farhad Mammadov told Trend news agency.

After losing the presidential elections in Armenia on February 18, Raffi Hovannisyan does not recognize the results of these elections. However, major states and international organizations have already recognized the incumbent head of state Serzh Sargsyan as the president, and even a number of Sargsyan's official visits abroad have already been planned. The presidential inauguration will be held on April 9.

Mammadov said elections to the Armenian Council of Elders are to be held soon. The Yerevan leadership is elected by the Council of Elders, and here Hovannisyan and his supporters intend to be represented in the government to some extent.

"It is unlikely that Hovannisyan will be offered the post of the minister or governor of the region. However, the conditions will be created, so that he would gain more opportunities compared with Levon Ter-Petrosyan and other opposition leaders. This is due to Raffi Hovannisyan being a weaker opponent than others," Mammadov said.

As for the statements on the opening of flights from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, the CSS Director noted such statements have been around for a long time. However, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs take a principled stand on this issue; they are against these flights, as those are of non-peaceful nature and may lead to escalation of processes in the region. Therefore, such flights are impossible with no consideration for humanitarian and other matters, Mammadov said.

Azerbaijan has banned the use of airspace of its Armenian-occupied territory Nagorno-Karabakh, as no one can guarantee the safety of the area.