Azernews.Az

The reopening of the Khojaly airport disturbs the peace process and fuels the conflict massively from one side, Marco Wanderwitz, Bundestag member from Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parliamentary group, Member of the Legal Committee, Chairman of the Young Group in the CDU/CSU fraction made this statement while commenting on Armenia's plans to open Khojaly airport in Nagorno-Karabakh -- an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation, the European Azerbaijan Society reported.

"Germany supports the resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations that condemn the ongoing occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions of Azerbaijan and request the immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops. The territorial integrity of the state is very important. Nagorno-Karabkh is part of Azerbaijan," Wanderwitz said.

He said Azerbaijan is a partner of Germany for a long time.

"We are very concerned about the conflict and are actively trying to contribute to the solution. Germany is willing to continue working towards a peaceful solution in the multinational framework. We have to finally achieve a solution within the institutions of the United Nations and the OSCE after two decades of efforts," he said.

Earlier, Armenian media reported on the commissioning of the airport at Khojaly in the near future.

Commissioning the airport is an open violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation [adopted on December 7, 1944 in Chicago], the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported earlier. In this regard, Azerbaijan will strengthen the legal level use of the application of the Chicago convention.

Azerbaijan banned the use of the airspace over Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia, as no one can guarantee a safe air corridor in the area, the head of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, Arif Mammadov said earlier.

He said Armenia's steps towards the operation of the airport are attempts to violate international aviation law. This air space belongs to Azerbaijan, so its use by Armenia is illegal.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) also support the position of Azerbaijan on this issue.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.