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FLIGHTS TO KARABAKH TO START WHEN STEPANAKERT AIRPORT IS READY - ARMENIAN PREMIER
Interfax
Nov 26 2012
Russia
Armenia will open an air route to Karabakh when the Stepanakert Airport
is ready, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said in an interview
with Interfax.
"I think there will be no problems and the air route will operate
normally, same as the only motorway that links Karabakh to the rest
of the world," he said.
Engineering and navigation problems are being solved to ensure the
airport's compliance with air traffic standards. "Once the works are
done, flights will begin," the prime minister said.
"We have the following position: this is the right of the
self-determined people of Karabakh, this is a vital corridor for
Karabakh people who must live a life consistent with international
principles of the 21st century," he said.
Asked whether Armenia would listen to the appeal of the U.S.
Department of State and others for finding another solution, the
Armenian prime minister said, "the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen have
expressed their position, and the United States is one of them. What
solution? Is it to keep Karabakh residents isolated from the rest of
the world? That is absurd because we live in the 21st century. On
the contrary. If we support a peace settlement, we should create
normal living conditions for Karabakh instead of being aggressive
and imposing a blockade. We must create a normal life for the people."
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Victoria Nuland called on Armenia
and Azerbaijan to find a diplomatic solution to the problem of the
Stepanakert Airport in line with international agreements and laws
pertaining to border issues and bilateral civil aviation practices.
The OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen said in a joint statement in July
2012 that the airport operation could not be used as a pretext for
changing the Karabakh status and called on the sides to comply with
international legal norms and existent practices of air traffic above
their territories.
The Stepanakert Airport was built in 1974. Civil aircraft stopped
using it in the first half of the 1990s, when the Karabakh conflict
broke out. Military aircraft were based at the airport in the years
of hostilities (1991-1994).
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in March 2011 that he was going
to take the first flight from Yerevan to Stepanakert. "I, the president
of Armenia, will be the first passenger of that flight," he said.
Azeri authorities argued that Armenian attempts to restart civil
air traffic to and from Karabakh would be taken by Baku as an act of
trespassing its air space.
te jv
Interfax
Nov 26 2012
Russia
Armenia will open an air route to Karabakh when the Stepanakert Airport
is ready, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said in an interview
with Interfax.
"I think there will be no problems and the air route will operate
normally, same as the only motorway that links Karabakh to the rest
of the world," he said.
Engineering and navigation problems are being solved to ensure the
airport's compliance with air traffic standards. "Once the works are
done, flights will begin," the prime minister said.
"We have the following position: this is the right of the
self-determined people of Karabakh, this is a vital corridor for
Karabakh people who must live a life consistent with international
principles of the 21st century," he said.
Asked whether Armenia would listen to the appeal of the U.S.
Department of State and others for finding another solution, the
Armenian prime minister said, "the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen have
expressed their position, and the United States is one of them. What
solution? Is it to keep Karabakh residents isolated from the rest of
the world? That is absurd because we live in the 21st century. On
the contrary. If we support a peace settlement, we should create
normal living conditions for Karabakh instead of being aggressive
and imposing a blockade. We must create a normal life for the people."
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Victoria Nuland called on Armenia
and Azerbaijan to find a diplomatic solution to the problem of the
Stepanakert Airport in line with international agreements and laws
pertaining to border issues and bilateral civil aviation practices.
The OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen said in a joint statement in July
2012 that the airport operation could not be used as a pretext for
changing the Karabakh status and called on the sides to comply with
international legal norms and existent practices of air traffic above
their territories.
The Stepanakert Airport was built in 1974. Civil aircraft stopped
using it in the first half of the 1990s, when the Karabakh conflict
broke out. Military aircraft were based at the airport in the years
of hostilities (1991-1994).
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in March 2011 that he was going
to take the first flight from Yerevan to Stepanakert. "I, the president
of Armenia, will be the first passenger of that flight," he said.
Azeri authorities argued that Armenian attempts to restart civil
air traffic to and from Karabakh would be taken by Baku as an act of
trespassing its air space.
te jv