Serzh Sargsyan has inspected construction work at the airport in the Karabakh capital Khankandi (known as Stepanakert by the Armenians).
The leader of Karabakh's separatist government, Bako Sahakyan, met the Armenian president at the airport and the two leaders inspected the airport complex, Armenian news agency Mediamax reported.
Karabakh's civil aviation administration had said that the airport would open on 9 May, but the opening was postponed. The de facto Karabakh government denied that 9 May had ever been set as the official opening date.
When Armenia announced that civil aircraft would fly to Karabakh, Azerbaijan responded that the flights would be illegal, as Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory.
The rhetoric got heated with talk of shooting down aircraft, but both sides since toned down their remarks. The OSCE Minsk Group, mediating a settlement to the Karabakh conflict, expressed concern that the planned opening of the airport could lead to further increased tensions.
Serzh Sargsyan arrived in Karabakh on Friday to take part in celebrations to mark Victory Day for the Karabakh Armenian forces and the capture of the town of Shusha, which are marked on 9 May.
The fall of Shusha to Armenian forces marked a turning point in the war in the early 1990s to wrest Karabakh from Azerbaijani control.
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