Headline changed, details added (first version posted on 10:15)
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25
Trend:
Azerbaijan calls on the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, responsible for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, to take measures to prevent another one of Armenia’s provocations, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend May 25.
Hajiyev made the remarks while commenting on the Armenian side’s attempt to organize flights from the Khojaly airport in the occupied territories under the guise of tourism.
“Armenia’s plans to organize flights from the Khojaly airport, in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenian armed forces, under the guise of tourism, is another Armenian provocation. Such actions seriously damage the negotiation process and deliberately serve to escalate the conflict,” said the spokesperson.
He added that the airspace of the occupied territories is the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.
“The Khojaly airport is Azerbaijan’s property by the special code of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Azerbaijan banned flights in the airspace over the occupied territories, since it is impossible to ensure the safety of flights in this part of Azerbaijan’s airspace. This position of Azerbaijan is supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Civil Aviation Conference,” noted Hajiyev.
Armenia’s attempts to use the Khojaly airport and organize illegal flights is a gross violation of the Law on Aviation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, peremptory norms and principles of international law, the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, rules and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, added the Azerbaijani official.
Azerbaijan, using international legal means in order to prevent another provocation by Armenia, will appeal to relevant international structures, added Hajiyev.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.