Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.20
By Sabina Ahmadova - Trend:
On November 20, 1991, Armenians shot down a civilian helicopter, with Azerbaijani, Russian, Kazakh officials, deputies and journalists on board, in the airspace of Garakend and Marzili villages of Khojavend and Aghdam districts, the acting head of the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev told reporters Nov.20.
As a result of the attack, 22 people died, Hajiyev said.
He added that following the investigation, it was established that the helicopter was shot down by security forces of Armenia.
"Armenia continued terrorist activities against Azerbaijan in subsequent years as well," said Hajiyev. "It has organized more than 30 terrorist attacks on air and ground transport, including the subway."
He said that in 1991, Armenia physically destroyed officials and political figures of the three countries, which were sent to the region with a peaceful initiative, and gave no opportunity to resolve the conflict peacefully from the very start.
"This fact once again clearly demonstrates that the main purpose of Armenia is to prevent the peaceful settlement of the conflict and the liberation of Azerbaijani territories," said Hajiyev.
"Armenia adheres to its destructive position today as well, when initiatives for the peaceful settlement of the conflict are taken, the Armenian side resorts to provocations, and slows down the negotiation process by all means."
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 four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.