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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 5 2012
Turkey says opening airport in Karabakh a `provocation' by Armenia
5 October 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
Turkey has slammed Armenia for opening a new airport in occupied
Azerbaijani territories and described the move as a `provocation' that
could halt the peace process between the two countries.
A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday said
opening of the Khankendi Airport, which has become functional since
Sep. 28 in the occupied territories, was a provocation that would halt
the negotiation process to find an enduring settlement to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Azerbaijan, its military budget bloated by oil and gas sales, had
threatened to shoot down planes landing at the airport, but has since
toned down its rhetoric. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan earlier
said he plans to be on the first flight.
The airport was heavily damaged and closed by the war, in which
Armenian-backed forces seized control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven
surrounding Azeri districts forming a land corridor with Armenia.
Rebuilt at a cost of $3 million, it will have regular flights between
Yerevan and the enclave, currently a five-hour drive apart along a
single road snaking through mountains.
Though not recognized as independent by any country, Nagorno-Karabakh
is seeking to garner the trappings of statehood, an airport among
them. Azerbaijan says this prejudices negotiations that have failed
for the past 17 years to produce a peace settlement.
The mountainous territory has been a source of a locked dispute
between Armenia and Azerbajian since 1992 when Armenian forces invaded
the region. Ethnic Armenians have controlled Nagorno-Karabakh, a
mountainous enclave within Azerbaijan but with a majority Armenian
population, since a war in the early 1990s that killed about 30,000
people and ended in a ceasefire in 1994.
Despite efforts of the Western countries and Russia, two countries
failed to reach a compromise over the disputed territory.
In the statement, Turkish Foreign Ministry invited Armenia to exercise
commonsense and refrain from acts that could hamper regional peace and
stability. It added that such moves won't contribute to peace and
prosperity in the region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Oct 5 2012
Turkey says opening airport in Karabakh a `provocation' by Armenia
5 October 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
Turkey has slammed Armenia for opening a new airport in occupied
Azerbaijani territories and described the move as a `provocation' that
could halt the peace process between the two countries.
A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday said
opening of the Khankendi Airport, which has become functional since
Sep. 28 in the occupied territories, was a provocation that would halt
the negotiation process to find an enduring settlement to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Azerbaijan, its military budget bloated by oil and gas sales, had
threatened to shoot down planes landing at the airport, but has since
toned down its rhetoric. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan earlier
said he plans to be on the first flight.
The airport was heavily damaged and closed by the war, in which
Armenian-backed forces seized control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven
surrounding Azeri districts forming a land corridor with Armenia.
Rebuilt at a cost of $3 million, it will have regular flights between
Yerevan and the enclave, currently a five-hour drive apart along a
single road snaking through mountains.
Though not recognized as independent by any country, Nagorno-Karabakh
is seeking to garner the trappings of statehood, an airport among
them. Azerbaijan says this prejudices negotiations that have failed
for the past 17 years to produce a peace settlement.
The mountainous territory has been a source of a locked dispute
between Armenia and Azerbajian since 1992 when Armenian forces invaded
the region. Ethnic Armenians have controlled Nagorno-Karabakh, a
mountainous enclave within Azerbaijan but with a majority Armenian
population, since a war in the early 1990s that killed about 30,000
people and ended in a ceasefire in 1994.
Despite efforts of the Western countries and Russia, two countries
failed to reach a compromise over the disputed territory.
In the statement, Turkish Foreign Ministry invited Armenia to exercise
commonsense and refrain from acts that could hamper regional peace and
stability. It added that such moves won't contribute to peace and
prosperity in the region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress