(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 10. Since the
peaceful protest of Azerbaijani NGOs has started on the
Lachin-Khankendi road, the Armenian side has been hysterically
blaming Azerbaijan for the so-called 'blockade' of the road, and
has been calling for international community to somehow act upon,
Parvin Mirzazade, Ambassador-at-Large of the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry, writes in his latest article, trend reports.
As Mirzazade pointed out, the rally is being held in full
compliance with Azerbaijani legislation. The demand of the
protesters is to allow the expert team to inspect the environmental
condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli'
copper-molybdenum deposit, and assess the damage caused by the
actions of the company illegally exploiting them, as well as o stop
the uncontrolled movement of Armenian vehicles, which do not use
the Lachin-Khankendi road or peaceful purposes.
'Since these mines are the main source of income for the
separatists, which they use to pay members of illegal armed
formations and buy arms, the Armenian side try everything possible
to prevent the Azerbaijani side from visiting these territories,'
he said.
The arrival of Ruben Vardanyan, a fugitive Russian billionaire
of Armenian origin, who illegally seized the power in Karabakh, has
made it worse. Recently, he has made a statement on the need to
open the airport in the city of Khankendi, Mirzazade noted.
'In order to overthrow the hated Pashinyan, who has long vexed
and prevented him from taking over, Vardanyan needs to convince the
Armenian people that he is exactly what they need to get Armenia
out of its deep political and economic crisis. Khankendi airport,
in this case, seems like a great solution, a small victory for
Vardanyan,' he said.
'After the start of the protest of Azerbaijani
environmentalists, Vardanyan decided to implement the failed idea
of launching the airport once again, this time for 'humanitarian'
purposes under the pretext of the so-called 'blockade'. He started
to appeal to international organizations, although there are no
obstacles to their transportation through the Lachin road,' said
Mirzazade.
Apparently, Vardanyan needs to resolve this issue in order to
win the sympathy of the Armenian people before he starts to fight
for power in Armenia, he explained.
Meanwhile, as the author noted, the Armenian side has repeatedly
tried to reopen the airspace over the occupied Azerbaijani
territories, despite the fact that, according to international
conventions, that territory has been recognized by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as a sovereign
territory of Azerbaijan. Despite this, in 2012, with the financial
support of Yerevan, the airport of Khankendi was reconstructed and
renamed. At the same time, the launch of regular flights from
Armenia was announced.
'But it wasn't meant to be. The Azerbaijani aviation authorities
immediately addressed ICAO with the appropriate warning on the ban
of flights to Khankendi airport. Before any civilian airport can
operate, it needs to obtain the appropriate code at ICAO, pass the
certification there and meet the flight safety requirements of a
respected international organization. Given that the aviation
authorities of Azerbaijan are unable to carry out such
certification, because the airport is not yet under the control of
the Azerbaijani side, it is, therefore, impossible to open it,' he
said.
At last, the Armenian authorities did not dare to go against
international law and did not risk an air blockade. In doing so,
the Armenian leadership tried to hide the truth from its own people
and has once again blamed Azerbaijan for its failed plans,
Mirzazade noted.
The author stressed that Khankendi Airport can be opened for
humanitarian purposes only if it is fully controlled by Azerbaijan
and certified in accordance with the ICAO requirements, while the
entire flight zone over the territory where peacekeepers are
temporarily stationed remains a no-fly zone for aircraft, due to
the fact that the remains of the Armenian armed forces and illegal
armed separatist formations are still present there. Only after
their withdrawal from the territory of Azerbaijan it will be
possible to consider the partial opening of flights over this
territory.
'So, no matter how hard the Armenian leaders try, Azerbaijan's
position on this strategic issue will not change. President Ilham
Aliyev has repeatedly stressed that only reconciliation and rapid
integration of the Armenian population of the Karabakh region into
Azerbaijani society will bring peace and tranquility to the region.
The unconstructive and provocative actions of the Armenian side
aimed at freezing the situation and refusing to hold real peace
talks only contribute to the unwinding of new rounds of tension,
which may have irreparable consequences for the people of Armenia,
and for peace and security in the South Caucasus,' Mirzazade
said.