Armenian minister admits downed helicopter deviated from course
By Sara Rajabova
Armenia’s defense minister admitted that the military helicopter that engaged in provocative moves against Azerbaijani armed forces and downed by the countries’ army deviated from the course.
Seyran Ohanyan told reporters on January 27 that the crew of the Armenian armed forces helicopter deviated a little from the course while carrying out training flight.
The responsible persons were reprimanded on the results of an internal investigation in connection with the incident with the downed helicopter, while some were also dismissed, according to Ohanyan.
Two Mi-24 attack helicopters of the Armenian air forces approached and made attack maneuvers in the immediate vicinity of the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces nearby the village of Kengerly in the occupied Aghdam region on November 12 . One of the helicopters was shot down on the very same occupied territory.
Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said the downed helicopter belonged to air base No. 15 stationed in Erebuni military base near Yerevan, and its crew members were military servicemen of the Armenian armed forces that is another manifestation of Armenia's aggression, its direct involvement in the occupation of the territories and continued use of force against Azerbaijan.
The UN Security Council’s four resolutions demanding immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces still remain unimplemented by Yerevan, which not only refuses to withdraw from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, but also continues to strengthen its military presence at those territories and conduct large-scale military actions in flagrant violation of international law.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions. Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.
--
Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @SaraRajabova
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz