Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 13 /Trend, E. Mehdiyev/
Any suggestion that the Airport at Khojaly could be reopened is a provocative move that would undoubtedly have a negative impact on the current round of peace talks, member of the British House of Lords Lord Laird responded to the European Azerbaijan Society on Armenia's illegal plans for Khojaly airport.
"Scheduled flights could never be officially sanctioned by the ICAO and the airport at Khojaly is very near the 'line of contact' - a factor that entails obvious dangers for any passengers flying in or out," he said.
Earlier, Armenian media reported on the commissioning of the airport at Khojaly in the near future.
The commissioning of the airport is an open violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation [adopted on December 7, 1944 in Chicago], the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported earlier.
In this regard, Azerbaijan will strengthen the legal level use of the application of the Chicago convention.
Azerbaijan banned the use of the airspace over 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 towards the operation of the airport are attempts to violate international aviation law. This air space belongs to Azerbaijan, so its use by Armenia is illegal.
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 percent 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.