According to the Russian Satellite News Agency on December 2, David Babayan, an adviser to the leaders of the Karabakh region, who is not internationally recognized, confirmed to the satellite news agency that the airport will soon be opened in the Karabakh region, but the date is not specified. “It’s hard to say [when the airport will open] … Let’s put it this way, in the near future,” he said.
The airport near Stepanakert was built in 1974, and the flight is mainly to Yerevan and Baku. During the Naqqa conflict in the early 1990s, the airport was used for military purposes and has not been used since then.
In 2012, the airport was technically re-operable after reconstruction, but Azerbaijan warned that it would regard flights to Stepanakert as a violation of its own airspace and would not exclude forced aircraft landing. At present, there are no regular passenger flights at the airport.
The leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan previously issued a joint statement on a ceasefire in the Karabakh region. Russian President Putin issued a statement saying that a comprehensive ceasefire in the Karabakh region should enter into effect on November 10, Azerbaijan and Armenia will maintain their occupied positions and exchange prisoners of war, and Russian peacekeepers will be stationed in the Karabakh conflict area.
It has previously been reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense has deployed a military square cabin hospital at Stepanakert Airport, which will provide medical services to peacekeeping troops and local residents.
