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BAKU WELCOMES ANKARA'S DECISION TO CANCEL VAN-YEREVAN FLIGHTS
Today's Zaman, Turkey
April 3 2013
Turkey's decision to cancel new flights between Turkey's province
of Van and Armenia's capital city of Yerevan, which were expected to
start on April 3, is being greeted with enthusiasm by Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Elman Abdullayev has
said that Ankara's decision to cancel the flights, which were to
be operated by BoraJet, to its long-estranged neighbor, Armenia,
is of great importance for Azerbaijan. "There were some groups in
Azerbaijan that took opposition to the flights in question. They
would have been operated by a private company, but due to political
and economic conditions they won't take off," Abdullayev was quoted
as saying on Wednesday.
The flights between Armenia and Turkey would not have been the first
between the two countries. Armenia's national carrier, Armavia,
operated flights between Armenia and Turkey before it filed for
bankruptcy last month. Van-Yerevan flights were scheduled to run
twice-weekly and would have connected Armenians to what they call
their "historical homeland." The flights were encouraged by Turkey's
reconciliation moves with Armenia and were meant to boost bilateral
tourism and trade.
Commenting on Turkey's outstanding support for Azerbaijan in the
region Abdullayev said: "Armenia is an aggressive country and occupied
Azerbaijan's territories. In this case the role of Azerbaijan's
strategic ally, Turkey, is very important, as Ankara's pressure on
Yerevan is necessary," he said. "We have always felt Turkey's support
and for that we are thankful to Ankara."
Azerbaijan and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since the early
1990s when Armenia together with Russian forces occupied Azerbaijani
territories including mainly Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh and
seven Azerbaijani populated adjacent territories. To support its ally,
Azerbaijan, Turkey closed its land border with Armenia. Currently,
together with Azerbaijan, Turkey has attempted to economically
isolate Armenia by omitting Yerevan from regional economic projects,
considering it the only way to peacefully settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, which has been deadlocked for more than two decades.
Turkish authorities also reportedly confirmed the flights had been
canceled, but did not provide any further details. One BoraJet official
twice denied that the Van-Yerevan flights had ever been planned,
even though the route was still available as a booking option on the
firm's website on Monday, according to Reuters.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-311608-baku-welcomes-ankaras-decision-to-cancel-van-yerevan-flights.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Today's Zaman, Turkey
April 3 2013
Turkey's decision to cancel new flights between Turkey's province
of Van and Armenia's capital city of Yerevan, which were expected to
start on April 3, is being greeted with enthusiasm by Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Elman Abdullayev has
said that Ankara's decision to cancel the flights, which were to
be operated by BoraJet, to its long-estranged neighbor, Armenia,
is of great importance for Azerbaijan. "There were some groups in
Azerbaijan that took opposition to the flights in question. They
would have been operated by a private company, but due to political
and economic conditions they won't take off," Abdullayev was quoted
as saying on Wednesday.
The flights between Armenia and Turkey would not have been the first
between the two countries. Armenia's national carrier, Armavia,
operated flights between Armenia and Turkey before it filed for
bankruptcy last month. Van-Yerevan flights were scheduled to run
twice-weekly and would have connected Armenians to what they call
their "historical homeland." The flights were encouraged by Turkey's
reconciliation moves with Armenia and were meant to boost bilateral
tourism and trade.
Commenting on Turkey's outstanding support for Azerbaijan in the
region Abdullayev said: "Armenia is an aggressive country and occupied
Azerbaijan's territories. In this case the role of Azerbaijan's
strategic ally, Turkey, is very important, as Ankara's pressure on
Yerevan is necessary," he said. "We have always felt Turkey's support
and for that we are thankful to Ankara."
Azerbaijan and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since the early
1990s when Armenia together with Russian forces occupied Azerbaijani
territories including mainly Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh and
seven Azerbaijani populated adjacent territories. To support its ally,
Azerbaijan, Turkey closed its land border with Armenia. Currently,
together with Azerbaijan, Turkey has attempted to economically
isolate Armenia by omitting Yerevan from regional economic projects,
considering it the only way to peacefully settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, which has been deadlocked for more than two decades.
Turkish authorities also reportedly confirmed the flights had been
canceled, but did not provide any further details. One BoraJet official
twice denied that the Van-Yerevan flights had ever been planned,
even though the route was still available as a booking option on the
firm's website on Monday, according to Reuters.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-311608-baku-welcomes-ankaras-decision-to-cancel-van-yerevan-flights.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress