“As somebody who has visited the region I know how the tragic events which occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh still resonate and that peace negotiations are delicate. That is why the proposal to re-open the airport at Khojaly is so damaging,” British MP Chris Heaton-Harris made this statement while commenting on Armenia’s illegal plans for opening Khojaly airport, the European Azerbaijan Society reported.
“It not only ignores international law, it also conjures up memories of the civilians who died when forced out of their homes in that town just twenty years ago. Any plans to re-open the airport at Khojaly would be counterproductive unless part of a wider settlement,” British MP said.
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 the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
/Trend/
