FM: Khojaly airport’s activity illegal until withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 14 / Trend E. Mehdiyev /

Khojaly airport's activity is illegal until the Armenian forces are fully withdrawn from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said.

"After Armenian troops are withdrawn and a peace agreement reached, it is possible to use this airport for humanitarian purposes," he told media today.

Earlier, Armenian media reported about the commissioning of the airport in Khojaly.
Commissioning the airport in Khojaly s an open violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry reported earlier.

Azerbaijan has banned the use of the airspace of 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.

He said Armenia's steps directed towards the operation of the airport in Khojaly 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.

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.