Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.6 / Trend, A.Taghiyeva /
Turkish Foreign Ministry made a statement condemning opening of an airport in Khankendi by Armenia and calls it as Armenian side's provocation, Turkish Foreign Ministry's website reported.
The statement says that Armenia's decision to open an airport in Khankendi harms the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution and is open provocation of Armenia.
Turkish Foreign Ministry urged Armenia to be wise and abandon the actions that will be an obstacle to the development of the region.
Armenian media outlets reported about commissioning of the airport in Khankendi.
As Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry representatives said, opening the airport in Khankendi contradicts the international conventions, in particular the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation.
Azerbaijan has banned the use of the airspace of Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia, as no one can guarantee flight safety in the area, the head of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, Arif Mammadov, told the New Azerbaijan party's official website earlier.
He said Armenia's steps directed to the operation of the airport in Khankendi are attempts to violate international legal norms. This air space belongs to Azerbaijan, so its use by Armenia is impossible.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) also support the position of Azerbaijan on this issue.
President Serzh Sargsyan promised to be the first passenger which will fly from Khankendi.
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 the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.