Epress.am News from Armenia
The CIS Interstate Aviation Committee will not issue a certificate to the airport in Stepanakert, the capital of the de-facto Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, said Azerbaijan’s State Civil Aviation Administration (ASCAA) Director Arif Mammadov.
According to Mammadov, the Interstate Aviation Committee chair made such a promise during his visit to Baku in May. “The chair promised that the Interstate Aviation Committee will not perform any work without the consent of the Azerbaijani side. Even if Armenia appeals, the airport will not receive a certificate,” said Mammadov, according to News.az, citing APA news agency.
The State Civil Aviation Administration chief said Azerbaijan’s statement to destroy Armenian planes flying out of the Stepanakert airport is still in force. “This is the right of the Azerbaijani side, according to the law on aviation. Whether this right will be implemented or not — the government will decide.”
At the end of March this year, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that he would be the first passenger on the Stepanakert-Yerevan flight. Commenting on threats from Azerbaijan, Sargsyan said that such statements are “more characteristic of terrorists and not states.”