Azerbaijan, Baku, 12 March / Trend E. Mehdiyev /
Minister of State at the German Foreign Office Cornelia Pieper issued a statement on the Khojaly airport on behalf of the Federal Government, the European Azerbaijan Society reported on Tuesday.
A resumption of aviation at the airport without the permission of the Azerbaijani side would contradict the spirit of the ceasefire agreement made between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1994 and would carry the risk of an escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement said.
"The Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk-Group declared on July 13th 2012 that re-opening the airport could not be used to bring about a change in the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and they called on all sides to seek a diplomatic solution and to act in accordance with International Law.
The Federal Government, together with their partners in the European Union, supports the OSCE Minsk Group in its objective to stress to Armenia and Azerbaijan the necessity of refraining from any activity that could fuel tensions further and of working towards a peaceful solution, "according to the statement.
Earlier, Armenian media reported on the intended commissioning of the airport in 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 use of the application of the Chicago convention. The country banned the use of its airspace over Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia, as no one can guarantee safe flights in the area, the 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 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 namely 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.