Azerbaijan Shoots Down Russian Helicopter in Armenia
 |
| Image source:-google| Image by:- geotv |
Azerbaijan has said its forces shot down a Russian helicopter
near its border with Armenia by accident, expressing apologies
to Moscow and readiness to pay compensation.
“The Azerbaijani side offers an apology to the Russian side in
connection with this tragic incident,” the foreign ministry said
in a statement on Monday, adding the move was an accident
“not aimed against” Moscow.
It came shortly after Russia said one of its Mi-24 helicopters
was downed in Armenia, killing two servicemen and wounding another.
The defence ministry in Moscow said in a statement that the
helicopter was hit by a man-portable air-defence system and
launched an investigation to determine who was responsible
for the act.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said the helicopter flew at
a low altitude during hours of darkness and close to the state
border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Helicopters of the Russian air force had not been previously
sighted in the area,” it added.
Azerbaijan said its forces decided to open fire due to
heightened tensions amid intense fighting with Armenian forces
over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia — Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry apologized on
Monday for what it said was the accidental shooting down
of a Russian military helicopter, killing two crew members
in an incident that threatened to draw Russia more deeply
into an already escalating war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
is backing Azerbaijan in the conflict, while Russia has a mutual
defense treaty with Armenia. Both Russia and Turkey have denied any
direct role in the fighting, and Russia has sought to broker a
cease-fire. But the two countries are already at odds in wars
in Syria and Libya, raising the risk that the fighting in the
Caucasus could mushroom into a wider conflict.
