When Will Stepanakert Airport Become Operational? - "Iravunk"

“In the first ten days of December, Stepanakert Airport will resume operations. The military transport aircraft of the Russian Federation will be able to use Stepanakert Airport for servicing humanitarian centers in Nagorno-Karabakh.” This announcement was made by “Ria Novosti” referencing a source from the local administration last November.

At the end of December, specifically on December 25, “Iravunk” inquired about the exact operational date of the airport from the press secretary of the President of Artsakh, Vahe Ram Poghosyan. He stated in our conversation, “The area of Stepanakert Airport has been cleared of mines and is fully prepared for normal operations. There are still some ongoing discussions. When it is operational, all these questions will be answered. Most likely, it will be put into operation at the beginning of the year, and right now, we are having minor discussions to finalize.”

We previously noted that the reactivation of Stepanakert Airport is included in the primary plans of the Russian Federation, right after the signing of the ceasefire agreement. It also includes steps for modernizing the airport and primarily extending the runway to accommodate even the heaviest military and civilian aircraft. Furthermore, this process is interpreted according to the clause of the November 9 agreement, which states, “All economic and transport links in the region will be opened…”

Three months have passed since the beginning of the year, and there is still no mention of the airport's operational status. Why? We attempted to obtain an answer from the new press secretary of the President of Artsakh, Lusine Avanesyan, who provided vague responses.

- There is still no certainty regarding the deadlines.

- But your colleague officially stated that it would likely be operational at the beginning of the year. What is the issue now, could you share?

- The timelines are uncertain; that’s all I can say on this matter, nothing more.

Meanwhile, our other sources inform us that the Russian side is still waiting for the finalization of the trilateral agreement regarding the reactivation of communications. Within this framework, the Russian side has also raised the issue of the airport. Although Azerbaijan has attempted to resist a bit, they have understood that the Russians will resolve the airport issue anyway, and have preferred to take a position of agreement, stating, “What’s the issue?” The source also reports that technical work at the airport is nearly completed; there is still a minor issue related to the runway, which is also in the process of being resolved,” writes the newspaper.