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Member of the European Parliament and head of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Eleni Theocharous, has issued a statement condemning Azerbaijan’s violent actions in downing an unarmed Artsakh helicopter. The statement calls on the EU to form an ad hoc commission to examine what happened on the ground, Asbarez reports.

“With this statement, I feel the obligation to condemn a provocative action taken by the Azerbaijani Military Forces, on November 12, 2014, against innocent people who have probably lost their lives,” Theocharous says in her statement.

According to her, in fact, the Azerbaijani Military Forces shot down an unarmed helicopter of the Nagorno Karabakh (NKR) Defense Army while it was on a training flight.

“The fate of the crew members remains unknown because of Azerbaijan’s continued shootings and therefore the rescue operation seems to be very complicated. This incident is the most serious one since the cease fire agreement signed in 1994 by Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Armenia,” said head of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group. She also noted that she had already sent a letter to the President of the European Commission Jan Claude Junkcer and to other Commissioners in which she highlighted the facts of the incident.

“The EU should condemn this action and support the efforts for the solution of the problem on the basis of the right of self-determination,” the statement reads.

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.