Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.18
By Ilkin Izzet - Trend:
Armenian armed forces stage provocations and regularly open fire at the territory of Aghdam district where the Armenian military helicopter was downed by Azerbaijani servicemen, spokesperson of Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, Lieutenant-Colonel Vagif Dergahli told Trend on Nov.18.
Azerbaijani armed forces have to respond, and then Armenians declare to the whole world that they can't recover the dead bodies from that territory, he said.
An Armenian Mi-24 military helicopter flying 1,700 meters northeast of the Kengerli village of Azerbaijan's Aghdam district attacked the Azerbaijani army positions on Nov. 12. The helicopter was shot down by the Azerbaijani side. The wreckage of the downed helicopter fell on an area located 500 meters away from the frontline.
Dergahli said the Armenian side claims their helicopters did not cross the territory controlled by the Azerbaijani armed forces.
"That means, they say the downed helicopter was to fall to the territory controlled by them," he said. "If it is so, then why they don't want to recover the bodies? That's because the helicopter was shot down near Azerbaijan's positions," Dergahli said.
He added that as always, the Armenian side just tries to attract the attention of the international structures this way.
In recent days, Armenian armed forces have more frequently violated the ceasefire on the line of contact of Armenian and Azerbaijani armies, mainly in Aghdam district.
Armenian armed forces violated the ceasefire on Nov 16 by opening fire at Azerbaijani positions in the villages of Shikhlar, Shuraabad, Kengerli, Merzili, Yusifjanli, Bash Gervend of Aghdam district.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by SI