Russian airline plans Yerevan-Crimea flights despite Kyiv's protests
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 29 October 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian airline plans Yerevan-Crimea flights despite Kyiv's protests, 29 October 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/548ea67e15.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
October 29, 2014
By RFE/RL's Armenian Service
The Grozny Air civil aviation company, based in the Russia's Chechnya region, is pressing ahead with plans to launch regular flights from Yerevan to Crimea, despite protests from Kyiv.
Timur Shimayev, an executive officer for Grozny Air, told RFE/RL on October 29 that the firm's inaugural flight to Crimea was scheduled for November 17.
But Ukraine's ambassador to Armenia, Ivan Kukhta, told reporters in Yerevan on October 29 that any commercial flights between Yerevan and Crimea must first be approved by Kyiv.
Kukhta's statement came five days after a spokesman for the Armenian government's Civil Aviation Department, Ruben Grdzelian, said that a Russian regional airline had not been allowed to launch flights between Armenia and Crimea since the Ukrainian penninsula was annexed by Russia in March.
Moscow's annexation of Crimea has been condemned as illegal by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations General Assembly.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
