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Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 14 2013
British MP: Proposal to re-open airport at Khojaly damaging to
negotiation process
Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 14 /Trend, E. Mehdiyev/
The proposal to re-open airport at Khojaly is damaging to negotiations
process for Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, British MP Chris
Heaton-Harris responded to the European Azerbaijan Society on
Armenia's illegal plans for opening Khojaly airport.
"As somebody who has visited the region, I know how the tragic events
which occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh still resonate and that peace
negotiations are delicate. That is why the proposal to re-open the
airport at Khojaly is so damaging," Harris said.
He said it not only ignores international law, it also conjures up
memories of the civilians who died when forced out of their homes in
Khojaly just twenty years ago.
"Any plans to re-open the airport at Khojaly would be
counterproductive," Harris 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.
Feb 14 2013
British MP: Proposal to re-open airport at Khojaly damaging to
negotiation process
Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 14 /Trend, E. Mehdiyev/
The proposal to re-open airport at Khojaly is damaging to negotiations
process for Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, British MP Chris
Heaton-Harris responded to the European Azerbaijan Society on
Armenia's illegal plans for opening Khojaly airport.
"As somebody who has visited the region, I know how the tragic events
which occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh still resonate and that peace
negotiations are delicate. That is why the proposal to re-open the
airport at Khojaly is so damaging," Harris said.
He said it not only ignores international law, it also conjures up
memories of the civilians who died when forced out of their homes in
Khojaly just twenty years ago.
"Any plans to re-open the airport at Khojaly would be
counterproductive," Harris 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.