Azernews.Az

ANKARA – The reports on the expected opening of flights between the Turkish city of Van and the Armenian capital Yerevan are "a lie", Turkey’s ambassador to Azerbaijan has said.

"There is no official information to that end," Hulusi Kilic said while commenting on the Armenian reports, which quoted a Turkish official as saying that a first direct flight between Turkey and landlocked Armenia could be carried out in September.

A spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said earlier that Baku does not interfere with Turkey and Armenia’s affairs, but reserves the right to issue its response "if Azerbaijani interests are hurt".

Kilic also dismissed the circulating reports that claim Turkey and Armenia’s unofficial trade turnover amounts to $250 million, though the two neighboring countries have no direct overland link.

"It is possible that some people are trading with each other, but officially, there has been no authorization for trade [between the two countries]. Such commerce may be carried out through other countries."

Turkey, Azerbaijan’s ally, and Armenia maintain no diplomatic relations and the border between the two countries has been shut since 1993 due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and claims on World War I-era "genocide" in Ottoman Turkey. Ankara and Yerevan signed reconciliation agreements in October 2009, but their parliamentary approval is stalled.