World media about NKR helicopter downed by Azerbaijan
The topic of the NKR helicopter downed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces is widely covered by international media.
Thus, the established publication Bloomberg reports that for the first time after the signing of the ceasefire in the conflict zone of Nagorno Karabakh a helicopter was shot down.
"This is the worst military incident occurred during the last 20 years after the cease-fire was signed," said Thomas de Waal, the senior expert on the Caucasus at the Carnegie Center.
The newspaper also quotes the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group, which notes that the region cannot afford another turn of violence, as it happened last summer.
The Washington Post notes that as a result of the helicopter crash all of the three crew members were killed. It is also noted that the US State Department has condemned this incident.
At the same time, Reuters writes that the manifestation of violence increases the risk of tension around Nagorno Karabakh, and this can lead to major conflicts in the South Caucasus from where oil and natural gas head to Europe.
Al Jazeera TV channel emphasizes that Azerbaijan was warned; the consequences of this unprecedented escalation will be very harmful for Azerbaijan. The article notes that the Ministry of Defense of Nagorno Karabakh has confirmed that the helicopter was shot down by the Azerbaijani armed forces during a training flight.
"The enemy continues to fire shots intensively from different caliber weapons," reports the Channel quoting the NKR Defense Ministry’s statement.
Associated Press quotes the words of the press secretary of the Armenian Defense Minister Artsrun Hovhannisyan and stresses that this incident could become a new reason for the escalation of the conflict.
The German edition of Deutsche Welle also quotes the statement of Defense Ministry of Armenia, stressing that the ministry has accused the Azerbaijani side for defeating the helicopter.
In its turn American organization “Eurasianet” assesses the crash of the helicopter as a step committed by Azerbaijan, which can have dangerous consequences. It adds that according to Azerbaijani media, the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan has awarded the soldier who had shot down the helicopter.
The BBC, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle, The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail and some other reputable publications have also touched upon the topic of the downed helicopter.
As NKR Defense Ministry press service reported earlier, on November 12, at around 1:45 pm, Nagorno Karabakh Air Forces’ Mi-24 helicopter was shot by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during military training flight in the airspace in the eastern section of Karabakh – Azerbaijan Line of Contact. The land, on which the incident occurred, is in close proximity to the line of contact. Opponent after the incident continued intense bombardment scene from weapons of different caliber. The place where the helicopter was shot is close to the Line of Contact. The enemy continued to fire shots from weapons of different calibers after the incident.
Meanwhile, the press secretary of Armenian Defense Minister Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page that Azerbaijani Armed Forces have carried out an unprecedented provocation on the border with the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh; this has also led to escalation of the situation. In the same time the fabrications of the Azerbaijani side, as if the Armenian helicopters had attacked their positions and they allegedly had merely responded to this step, are senseless. "The study of the wreckage of the helicopter will confirm that he was not armed. The escalation of the Azerbaijani side has continued even after the helicopter fall down. Moreover, the Azerbaijani side continued shelling, not allowing even to get closer to the pilots. The consequences of this unprecedented escalation will be very harmful for the Azerbaijani side and will remain as a stain on the conscience of the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan. Captain of the helicopter was Major Sergei Sahakyan. Information about the fate of the crew will be given later," Artsrun Hovhannisyan stated.