Azerbaijan holds helicopter drills after deadly shooting
Azerbaijan Air Force helicopters have conducted
trial flights on the contact line with Armenian troops after a
deadly shooting.
Ten helicopters hovered above areas in the Fizuli, Beylagan, Agjabadi, Aghdam, Terter and Goranboy districts on Friday. According to Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry, the maneuvers were part of previously scheduled exercises.
Analysts link the drills with Thursday`s frontline shooting which killed five Armenian servicemen and wounded three others, along with injuring an Azerbaijani soldier. The skirmish erupted after an Armenian attack on Azerbaijani troops was reported near Azerbaijan`s occupied Aghdam district during the morning hours, another apparent ceasefire violation. Azerbaijani soldiers repelled the offensive.
The Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s following Armenia`s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have accomplished little so far, and Armenia frequently violates the ceasefire.
Turkey has voiced regret over the Armenian ceasefire breach on the frontline. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters that Ankara hopes the deadly shooting would not reoccur.
Davutoglu said he had discussed the incident over the phone with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, and the latter briefed him in detail about the shooting.
``We are trying to extricate the Caucasus from being a region of tension and fighting. All of our efforts are aimed at ensuring sustainable peace in the region,`` he said.
Analysts have put forth two theories about the reasons for last week`s shooting. According to one, the Armenian military is reluctant to follow their political leaders and, therefore, breach the ceasefire whenever to choose to. The other theory suggests that, due to the mounting political, economic and social tension in Armenia, the country`s authorities are trying to deflect attention from problems at home. In doing so, the Armenian ruling elite is staging provocations on the frontline to present itself as the only savior of its citizens in the face of Azerbaijan`s increasing military power, pundits presume.
Ten helicopters hovered above areas in the Fizuli, Beylagan, Agjabadi, Aghdam, Terter and Goranboy districts on Friday. According to Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry, the maneuvers were part of previously scheduled exercises.
Analysts link the drills with Thursday`s frontline shooting which killed five Armenian servicemen and wounded three others, along with injuring an Azerbaijani soldier. The skirmish erupted after an Armenian attack on Azerbaijani troops was reported near Azerbaijan`s occupied Aghdam district during the morning hours, another apparent ceasefire violation. Azerbaijani soldiers repelled the offensive.
The Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s following Armenia`s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have accomplished little so far, and Armenia frequently violates the ceasefire.
Turkey has voiced regret over the Armenian ceasefire breach on the frontline. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters that Ankara hopes the deadly shooting would not reoccur.
Davutoglu said he had discussed the incident over the phone with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, and the latter briefed him in detail about the shooting.
``We are trying to extricate the Caucasus from being a region of tension and fighting. All of our efforts are aimed at ensuring sustainable peace in the region,`` he said.
Analysts have put forth two theories about the reasons for last week`s shooting. According to one, the Armenian military is reluctant to follow their political leaders and, therefore, breach the ceasefire whenever to choose to. The other theory suggests that, due to the mounting political, economic and social tension in Armenia, the country`s authorities are trying to deflect attention from problems at home. In doing so, the Armenian ruling elite is staging provocations on the frontline to present itself as the only savior of its citizens in the face of Azerbaijan`s increasing military power, pundits presume.
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