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SKY NOT SHARED IN TRANSCAUCASUS. AT AN UNOFFICIAL LEVEL, ANKARA AND YEREVAN HAVE EXCHANGED WARNINGS ABOUT CLOSING THEIR AIRSPACE
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Oct 1 2012
Russia
by Yuriy Roks
A group of Turkish parliamentary deputies intend to initiate a
question on the closure of their country's airspace to aircraft bound
for Armenia. This is Ankara's response to the opening of Stepanakert
airport in Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan is convinced that Azerbaijan --
Turkey's ally -- is behind the deputies' plans and hopes that the
idea will not be implemented -- in that case, Armenia will close its
airspace to aircraft bound for the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic --
the Azerbaijan exclave sandwiched between Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
The report on the proposal to close the airspace to aircraft bound for
Yerevan which is coming to fruition within the Turkish parliament was
distributed by the Azerbaijani news agency APA, citing a diplomatic
source.
"In connection with this (if Stepanakert airport begins operating --
Nezavisimaya Gazeta note) there is an accord between Azerbaijan and
Turkey and this question has recently been discussed a number of
times between the aviation structures of Azerbaijan and Turkey,"
the source is cited as saying.
Even before the theoretical "retaliatory strike" was announced
in Yerevan, Sinan Ogan, a Turkish parliamentary deputy from the
Nationalist Movement party, stated that if Ankara bans Armenian
aircraft flights over its territory to suit Azerbaijan, the Armenians
could cause the same problems in regard to flight to Nakhichevan.
The essential point is that aircraft preparing to land at Yerevan's
Zvartnots airport have to enter Turkish airspace. This is by agreement
with this country's authorities, of course. As specialists are saying,
it will be incredibly difficult to land otherwise. This mechanism
functioned even at the height of the tension in Armenian-Azerbaijani
relations. It is approximately the same situation with aircraft landing
at Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan airport -- Armenia's airspace is used here.
The prospect, which is fraught with complications, Yerevan is
convinced, originated in Azerbaijan. "Having achieved nothing by
threats to bring down civil aircraft flying to or from Nagornyy
Karabakh, Baku has started seeking support from its main ally --
Ankara," David Dzhamalyan, An Armenian expert on military questions,
said, commenting on events. In his words, the reaction of Azerbaijan
and Turkey to Stepanakert airport's readiness for work was predictable
and has demonstrated yet again the existence of a military-political
tandem in the region. But they must remember that air corridors operate
above Armenia too, Dzhamalyan said, and "we have our own instruments,
the use of which could threaten many sides' interests."
"Therefore, I do not believe that our opponents will move on from
words to deeds," the expert noted. Commenting on Baku's threats to
bring down aircraft, Dzhamalyan stated that "the Armenian side will
give an appropriate response to this too." "The response will be
asymmetrical, precise, and very painful," he stressed, adding that
the airport's work and the threats connected with this can hardly be
a cause of military actions and are psychological in character.
In Baku they neither confirmed nor denied the agreement with Turkey on
joint actions, if or when Stepanakert airport begins operating, noting
merely that this is illegal according to the legislation of Azerbaijan,
which considers Nagornyy Karabakh its inalienable territory. They
also believe here that the commissioning of Stepanakert airport,
which is being prepared, is the Armenian side's counteraction in
response to President Ilham Aliyev's pardoning of Ramil Safarov,
an officer extradited from Hungary, who was serving a life sentence
there for the murder of an Armenian serviceman.
However, such an interpretation of the situation is hardly rational.
This is because there was talk about the readiness of Nagornyy
Karabakh's airport to receive and service aircraft back in May last
year. However, for various reasons Stepanakert airport did not begin
operations by the time of the next anniversary of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republi c's unrecognized independence back then. Although, according
to Dmitriy Atbashyan, chief of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's Civil
Aviation Administration, all the necessary navigation equipment was
installed back in 2010.
Incidentally, one of the suppliers of this equipment -- the French
company Thales -- has come to the attention of the Azerbaijani
authorities. As Elman Abdullayev, an official Foreign Ministry
spokesman, stated, Thales must cease cooperation "otherwise Azerbaijan
will take appropriate measures."
Atbashyan called the Azerbaijani side's demand on the French company
strange because "its equipment has been working in Stepanakert for
a long time and is used by foreign aircraft using Armenia's air
corridors." "Aircraft flying to Baku along the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic's border itself may be using it too," Atbashyan noted,
explaining that the functions of Stepanakert airport must be
interpreted more broadly than supporting arrivals in and departures
from Karabakh.
Despite the airport's declared readiness, it is still not very
clear when the first flight to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will
take place. The official structures in Armenia and the unrecognized
republic are making absolutely no comment on this, stressing, however,
that the threats from Baku and Ankara are irrelevant. According
to information from Kiro Manoyan, a leader of Dashnaktsutyun, the
Armenian revolutionary federation, the start of Stepanakert airport's
operations is being delayed for purely technical reasons, which must
be overcome promptly because "the opening of the airport is an impetus
conducive to a Karabakh settlement." But the Azerbaijani and Turkish
threats will not develop into vigorous actions and in time will come
to naught, Manoyan is confident.
[Translated from Russian]
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Oct 1 2012
Russia
by Yuriy Roks
A group of Turkish parliamentary deputies intend to initiate a
question on the closure of their country's airspace to aircraft bound
for Armenia. This is Ankara's response to the opening of Stepanakert
airport in Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan is convinced that Azerbaijan --
Turkey's ally -- is behind the deputies' plans and hopes that the
idea will not be implemented -- in that case, Armenia will close its
airspace to aircraft bound for the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic --
the Azerbaijan exclave sandwiched between Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
The report on the proposal to close the airspace to aircraft bound for
Yerevan which is coming to fruition within the Turkish parliament was
distributed by the Azerbaijani news agency APA, citing a diplomatic
source.
"In connection with this (if Stepanakert airport begins operating --
Nezavisimaya Gazeta note) there is an accord between Azerbaijan and
Turkey and this question has recently been discussed a number of
times between the aviation structures of Azerbaijan and Turkey,"
the source is cited as saying.
Even before the theoretical "retaliatory strike" was announced
in Yerevan, Sinan Ogan, a Turkish parliamentary deputy from the
Nationalist Movement party, stated that if Ankara bans Armenian
aircraft flights over its territory to suit Azerbaijan, the Armenians
could cause the same problems in regard to flight to Nakhichevan.
The essential point is that aircraft preparing to land at Yerevan's
Zvartnots airport have to enter Turkish airspace. This is by agreement
with this country's authorities, of course. As specialists are saying,
it will be incredibly difficult to land otherwise. This mechanism
functioned even at the height of the tension in Armenian-Azerbaijani
relations. It is approximately the same situation with aircraft landing
at Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan airport -- Armenia's airspace is used here.
The prospect, which is fraught with complications, Yerevan is
convinced, originated in Azerbaijan. "Having achieved nothing by
threats to bring down civil aircraft flying to or from Nagornyy
Karabakh, Baku has started seeking support from its main ally --
Ankara," David Dzhamalyan, An Armenian expert on military questions,
said, commenting on events. In his words, the reaction of Azerbaijan
and Turkey to Stepanakert airport's readiness for work was predictable
and has demonstrated yet again the existence of a military-political
tandem in the region. But they must remember that air corridors operate
above Armenia too, Dzhamalyan said, and "we have our own instruments,
the use of which could threaten many sides' interests."
"Therefore, I do not believe that our opponents will move on from
words to deeds," the expert noted. Commenting on Baku's threats to
bring down aircraft, Dzhamalyan stated that "the Armenian side will
give an appropriate response to this too." "The response will be
asymmetrical, precise, and very painful," he stressed, adding that
the airport's work and the threats connected with this can hardly be
a cause of military actions and are psychological in character.
In Baku they neither confirmed nor denied the agreement with Turkey on
joint actions, if or when Stepanakert airport begins operating, noting
merely that this is illegal according to the legislation of Azerbaijan,
which considers Nagornyy Karabakh its inalienable territory. They
also believe here that the commissioning of Stepanakert airport,
which is being prepared, is the Armenian side's counteraction in
response to President Ilham Aliyev's pardoning of Ramil Safarov,
an officer extradited from Hungary, who was serving a life sentence
there for the murder of an Armenian serviceman.
However, such an interpretation of the situation is hardly rational.
This is because there was talk about the readiness of Nagornyy
Karabakh's airport to receive and service aircraft back in May last
year. However, for various reasons Stepanakert airport did not begin
operations by the time of the next anniversary of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republi c's unrecognized independence back then. Although, according
to Dmitriy Atbashyan, chief of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's Civil
Aviation Administration, all the necessary navigation equipment was
installed back in 2010.
Incidentally, one of the suppliers of this equipment -- the French
company Thales -- has come to the attention of the Azerbaijani
authorities. As Elman Abdullayev, an official Foreign Ministry
spokesman, stated, Thales must cease cooperation "otherwise Azerbaijan
will take appropriate measures."
Atbashyan called the Azerbaijani side's demand on the French company
strange because "its equipment has been working in Stepanakert for
a long time and is used by foreign aircraft using Armenia's air
corridors." "Aircraft flying to Baku along the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic's border itself may be using it too," Atbashyan noted,
explaining that the functions of Stepanakert airport must be
interpreted more broadly than supporting arrivals in and departures
from Karabakh.
Despite the airport's declared readiness, it is still not very
clear when the first flight to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will
take place. The official structures in Armenia and the unrecognized
republic are making absolutely no comment on this, stressing, however,
that the threats from Baku and Ankara are irrelevant. According
to information from Kiro Manoyan, a leader of Dashnaktsutyun, the
Armenian revolutionary federation, the start of Stepanakert airport's
operations is being delayed for purely technical reasons, which must
be overcome promptly because "the opening of the airport is an impetus
conducive to a Karabakh settlement." But the Azerbaijani and Turkish
threats will not develop into vigorous actions and in time will come
to naught, Manoyan is confident.
[Translated from Russian]