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Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
November 13, 2014 Thursday 2:58 PM EST
Armenia, Azerbaijan trade accusations after helicopter downing
Yerevan/Moscow
DPA POLITICS Azerbaijan Armenia conflict Armenia, Azerbaijan trade
accusations after helicopter downing Yerevan/Moscow
Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday traded
accusations after a military helicopter with three people on board
was shot down over the disputed Nagorny-Karabakh region a day
earlier.
Armenia's parliamentary speaker, Galust Saakyan, said that all three
crew members were killed when the Mi-24 helicopter gunship was shot
down by Azerbaijan's armed forces on Wednesday, Interfax reported.
The aircraft belonged to the air force of Nagorny-Karabakh, a
disputed Armenian-controlled territory in southern Azerbaijan. A
spokesman for the Karabakh leadership, David Babayan, told Interfax
that rescuers could not get to the scene because Azerbaijani soldiers
kept firing at them.
The Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan on Thursday reiterated that its
forces had shot down the aircraft after it attacked. The ministry
said that the soldier who fired the hit will be awarded a medal.
Azerbaijan also pointed out that there is a no-fly zone over
Nagorny-Karabakh.
Armenia has said that the aircraft had been unarmed. Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan demonstratively flew to Nagorny-Karabakh to
watch military drills on Thursday. A video showed Sargsyan arriving
by helicopter in the regional capital Stepanakert.
Russia, which has stationed troops in Armenia and is widely seen as a
regional security guarantor, said that it is deeply worried about the
incident. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich called on
both sides to avoid any steps that could lead to an escalation,
according to Russian news agencies.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),
which has mediated the conflict since the 1990s, also expressed deep
concern.
OSCE chairman in office, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter,
appealed to the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia "to do their
utmost to prevent such incidents and to honour the ceasefire regime,"
the organization said.
November 13, 2014 Thursday 2:58 PM EST
Armenia, Azerbaijan trade accusations after helicopter downing
Yerevan/Moscow
DPA POLITICS Azerbaijan Armenia conflict Armenia, Azerbaijan trade
accusations after helicopter downing Yerevan/Moscow
Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday traded
accusations after a military helicopter with three people on board
was shot down over the disputed Nagorny-Karabakh region a day
earlier.
Armenia's parliamentary speaker, Galust Saakyan, said that all three
crew members were killed when the Mi-24 helicopter gunship was shot
down by Azerbaijan's armed forces on Wednesday, Interfax reported.
The aircraft belonged to the air force of Nagorny-Karabakh, a
disputed Armenian-controlled territory in southern Azerbaijan. A
spokesman for the Karabakh leadership, David Babayan, told Interfax
that rescuers could not get to the scene because Azerbaijani soldiers
kept firing at them.
The Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan on Thursday reiterated that its
forces had shot down the aircraft after it attacked. The ministry
said that the soldier who fired the hit will be awarded a medal.
Azerbaijan also pointed out that there is a no-fly zone over
Nagorny-Karabakh.
Armenia has said that the aircraft had been unarmed. Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan demonstratively flew to Nagorny-Karabakh to
watch military drills on Thursday. A video showed Sargsyan arriving
by helicopter in the regional capital Stepanakert.
Russia, which has stationed troops in Armenia and is widely seen as a
regional security guarantor, said that it is deeply worried about the
incident. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich called on
both sides to avoid any steps that could lead to an escalation,
according to Russian news agencies.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),
which has mediated the conflict since the 1990s, also expressed deep
concern.
OSCE chairman in office, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter,
appealed to the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia "to do their
utmost to prevent such incidents and to honour the ceasefire regime,"
the organization said.