Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian announced March 31 that he will be a passenger on the first civilian flight from Armenia to the newly rebuilt Khankendi airport in Nagorno-Karabakh. The announcement follows threats from Azerbaijan to shoot down any plane over the occupied Azerbaijani territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Though this creates the potential for an assassination and war between the countries, Azerbaijani officials clarified that it would not use force against civilian planes. As such, Sarkisian's announcement and Baku's threats are more likely political theater than serious moves toward renewed military conflict, though tensions have been raised in the volatile Caucasus region.
