Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 14 / Trend, A. Akhundov /
The situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement remains unchanged, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists on Thursday.
"Elections will be held in Armenia next week, so it is difficult to say when the next talks on the conflict's settlement will be conducted," he said.
Azerbaijan's position on the opening of the airport in Khojaly was repeatedly announced and brought to the attention of international institutions, Mammadyarov said responding to a question on Armenia's illegal plans for the opening of Khojaly Airport in Azerbaijan's occupied territories.
"We consider Armenia's actions illegal and contrary to all international regulations, as international law prohibits flights over the occupied territories. Even if these flights are humanitarian," he said.
"On our side, there are no claims to the construction and operation of flights. The problem rests in the fact that these territories are occupied. If Armenia withdraws its troops from these territories, it can operate these flights," Mammadyarov 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.
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, Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration said earlier.
According to Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, 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.