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US Ambassador comments on Azerbaijanâ€™s non-consent to NATO AWACS aircrafts to use its air space

29 December 2011 15:50 (UTC +04:00)

Bryza said that the information was imprecise: â€œI donâ€™t think that the permission wasnâ€™t given, because as I know, the question was about the reconsideration by the government of Azerbaijan of the procedure of flight via the countryâ€™s territoryâ€.

The governmental sources reported that Azerbaijan didnâ€™t allow the aircrafts of the NATOâ€™s Airborne Warning and Control System to fly over the country. According to the report, NATO has recently addressed Azerbaijan and Georgia and asked for the use of their airspaces by AWACS planes flying to Afghanistan. Though Georgia officially allowed it, Azerbaijan didnâ€™t allow the AWACS aircrafts to pass through its air space.

â€œAzerbaijan allowed the cargo flights to Afghanistan via its air space. But it is impossible to grant such permission because the AWACS aircrafts are the military intelligence aircraftsâ€, the source underlined.

The similar incident occurred a year ago. The German plane returning from Afghanistan to Europe wasnâ€™t allowed to land in Baku.

AWACS planes, which are supplied with the latest technologies, and considered as â€œflying radarsâ€, can detect the friendly and enemy planes from up to 400 km away. US-based AWACS aircrafts can show the place, height, speed of about 2000 planes and follow them. The ground targets and data detected by telephone monitoring, intelligence satellite and other means can be transferred to the warplanes by AWACS.