Stepanakert Airport Could be of Help in Fight against ISIS

MOSCOW (Tert.am) — The airport in Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital, Stepanakert, could be used for the Russian space defense forces’ anti-terrorist operations against the Islamic State, President Bako Sahakian said today in Moscow.

“Artsakh is ready to join the fight against international terrorism,” Bako Sahakian told a news conference devoted to the Artsakh days in Russia, Regnum news agency reports.

Referring to the history of the 1990’s liberation battle, he said his country’s leadership is willing to discuss future plans with the Russian side.

“When the Stepanakert airport is handed over for operation, Nagorno-Karabakh will be ready to discuss the exploitation of that infrastructure with Russia,” the president said,

He added that the airport will be equipped with modern supplies to meet the standards of high-technology aviation.

“The airport is designed to serve only for humanitarian purposes,” he said, promising that its services will not lag behind those of other international airports (including Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport and the Sheremetyevo International Airport of Moscow).

In his remarks, President Sahakian stressed that Russia has a special place on the foreign policy agenda of Artsakh, and touched upon a wide array of historical, cultural, geopolitical, and human relations.

President Sahakian highlighted such contacts, and considered them important in terms of developing bilateral relations, acquiring objective information on Artsakh, and establishing practical ties.