The United States urges the parties to find a diplomatic solution to issues relating to the operation of the airport, US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said Friday, when she was asked by RFE/RL to comment on the Azerbaijani threats of military action against any commercial flights into Nagorno-Karabakh, specifically into the newly renovated airport at capital city Stepanakert. 

“The United States urges the parties to find a diplomatic solution to issues relating to the operation of the airport, in keeping with the relevant international agreements, customary international law, and the current practice between Armenia and Azerbaijan with respect to civilian air travel,” Nuland stated during her weekly briefing.

“The OSCE Minsk group issued a statement on this. There was one on April 14th, 2011. There was another one just this past July 2012, which represented the views of the United States, France, and Russia in calling for a diplomatic solution,” the US State Department Spokesperson noted.

“We also, in those statements, reiterated that the operation of this airport should not be used to support any claim of change in the status of Nagorno-Karabakh,” she added.