Armenia to allow civilian flights to occupied Azerbaijan

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Armenia to let aircrafts to fly to Azerbaijan’s occupied territory

General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia (GDCA) will allow civil aircrafts to fly to the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, GDCA's chief Artyom Movsisyan told journalists, Novosti-Armenia reported.

He refused to disclose concrete dates.

According to Movsisyan, flights will be served by 19-seat Armenian planes. The flight duration will be 45 - 50 minutes.

The commissioning of the airport in Khojaly is an open violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Azerbaijan banned the use of airspace over Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, as no one can guarantee a safe air corridor in the area, the head of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, Arif Mammadov said earlier.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) also supported 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 - 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/51393.html

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Flights over occupied lands possible only with Azerbaijan's consent - MFA

Armenia does not only continue occupying the Azerbaijani lands, but at the same time makes provocative statements.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman has told this to Gun.Az while commenting on the consent of the Armenian Civil Aviation Main Office to launch civil airplane flight to occupied Azerbaijani region of Khankandi.

He noted that it will draw the region to danger, seriously damage the peace process and affect the format of the Minsk Group.

"The Armenian leadership should abstain from steps that draw the future of the region to danger."

The Foreign Ministry official reminded that the Chicago Convention, its member states and international law confirm Azerbaijan's sovereignty over these lands.

"We have repeatedly expressed our position on this issue. Azerbaijan has closed the airspace over the occupied lands. Its use can be possible only with the consent of Azerbaijan."

News.Az

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/78416

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ICAO says Khojaly airport opening bid is violation of int'l law

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) considers the efforts aimed at commissioning the Khojaly airport in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region occupied by Armenian armed forces since a 1990s war, an open violation of international law and says it can damage the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.

A delegation headed by the director of the State Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan Fuad Guliyev has attended the Sixth Worldwide Air Transport Conference of the ICAO in Montreal, Canada, the administration said on Tuesday. At the conference, members of the Azerbaijani delegation held a meeting with ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin. The sides discussed prospects of cooperation and issues related to improving the safety of air travel. Benjamin emphasized ICAO's position on the inadmissibility of the use of Khojaly airport located in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The ICAO secretary general said he supported all the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in connection with the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. He also stressed that attempts made to unilaterally put the Khojaly airport into operation without permission of the Azerbaijani side can cause considerable damage to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He said these attempts are deemed as a violation of the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation as well as international legal norms overall.

Armenian media frequently circulates reports that the airport in Khojaly is to be commissioned in the near future.

Recently, Chief of the General Department of Civil Aviation (GDCA) of Armenia Artyom Movsisyan said that this body will allow civil aircraft to fly to the occupied territory of Azerbaijan.

According to Movsisyan, flights will be carried out on board 19-seat Armenian planes. The duration of a flight will be 45 to 50 minutes. He declined to disclose dates.

Azerbaijan's Civil Aviation Administration recently condemned Armenia over the statement on the opening of flights from Yerevan to Khankendi in Nagorno-Karabakh and vice versa, saying these actions are not in line with international law.

Azerbaijan has banned the use of airspace of its Armenian-occupied territory Nagorno-Karabakh, as no one can guarantee the safety of the area.

Also, Azerbaijani officials have said this is another trick and provocation of Armenia and such claims aim to distract the Armenian people's attention from more important issues and prolong the Karabakh conflict.

The ICAO and European Civil Aviation Conference support Azerbaijan's position on the issue. Document No.121 on airports of the ICAO cited the Khojaly airport as property of Azerbaijan.

International flights from the Khojaly airport, constructed in 1978, were prohibited after the occupation of territories by Armenia. The Khojaly airport, which has been registered in international organizations with the name UB13, is a facility with military purposes.

http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/51674.html