Armenian soldiers are constantly supervising the helicopter crash site and the whole length of the front line, according to a statement issued by the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Ministry. “All necessary measures have been and will be initiated by the front line soldiers of the Defense Army in order to prevent the adversary from approaching the helicopter crash site,” the statement read.
The Defense Ministry said that violations along the entire length of the Line of Contact by Azerbaijani forces have increased substantially recently. According to the statement, intensive gunfire has increased in the direction of the crash site since the November 12 shooting down of a Karabakh Defense Army helicopter near the Line of Contact. “On the night of November 20-21 alone, the armed forces of Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime 190 times using different caliber weapons, eight of which were large-caliber grenades and other weapons.”
The unarmed helicopter was performing military drills near the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact on November 12 when it was shot down by Azerbaijani armed forces killing the three pilots on board.
On November 13, the government of Nagorno Karabakh applied to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Stepanakert asking that the organization mediate to ensure the repatriation of the bodies of the pilots. On November 18, Baku said that they will return the bodies only when they deem it necessary.
Also on November 18, Andrzej Kasprzyk met with the leadership of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic about the incident. It was planned that Kasprzyk would be allowed to go to the helicopter crash site, however monitoring of the Line of Contact took place at a predetermined location which was 10-12 kilometers from the actual site.
During an interview on Karabakh’s public television, Kasprzyk noted that Baku was unwilling to provide security guarantees to carry out the monitoring at the crash site. Kasprzyk said that he will continue efforts to ensure this happens. On November 19, Kasprzyk met with Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and on November 20, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issued another statement regarding the incident: “In the spirit of the Astrakhan statement of October 2010 between the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, the Co-Chairs urge Azerbaijan to permit the recovery of the bodies of the victims, and Armenia to cooperate fully with all efforts to resolve this humanitarian situation.”
