Azerbaijan, Baku, February 21 /Trend/
Armenia is posing a threat against Azerbaijan by operating flights from Khojaly Airport, which is under its occupation. This air space belongs to Azerbaijan, so its use by Armenia is illegal, said Azay Guliyev, member of Azerbaijani delegation, on Thursday at the meeting of OSCE in Vienna.
"Armenia's steps towards the operation of the airport are attempts to violate international aviation law, particularly, Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. In this regard, Azerbaijan will strengthen the legal level use of the application of the Chicago convention", said the deputy.
"It's obvious that the opening of the Khojaly airport would seriously harm the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and might cause a counter reaction. This attempt should be considered a provocation and an obstacle to the conflict's resolution that endangers the mutual confidence building", Guliyev noted.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) also support the position of Azerbaijan on this issue.
"I call on Armenian government to refrain from making such an unlawful steps which could lead unpredictable consequences for the region", concluded Guliyev.
On Feb. 25-26, 1992, Armenian armed forces together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi (previously called Stepanakert) committed an act of genocide towards the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
Some 613 people were killed including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. A total of 1000 civilians were disabled during the genocide. Eight families were killed, 130 children lost one parent and 25 lost both. Additionally, 1275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.