From Armenian news sites:
Armenia must give adequate response to Azerbaijan
21:00 • 12.11.14
Shooting down the MI-24 helicopter during a training flight was an act of war and provocation by Azerbaijan, political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told Tert.am.
According to him, the Armenian side must give an adequate – and even more aggressive – response to Azerbaijan.
“I am sure it was a provocation by Azerbaijan. As far as I know a fight is going on for the helicopter there. I think our side’s all steps must be serious and concrete because Azerbaijan has no right to take our helicopter, even a shot down one,” he said.
Mr Melik-Shahnazaryan finds it difficult to predict the consequences of Azerbaijan’s act of war. However, the Armenian side must retaliate, he said.
“If we do not retaliate now, we cannot be sure that they will not shoot down a civil helicopter or an airplane. This is a challenge for Armenia, Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] and the international community, including the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Azerbaijan is taking advantage of an unstable political situation in Russia and is resorting to ‘probing actions.’ Azerbaijan does not even have a right to think its provocations can ever go unpunished,” Mr Melik-Shahnazaryan said.
Heritage parliamentary group member Tevan Poghosyan said that no one can say that the war is over.
“We are at war and we must always be ready to respond to such provocations.”
Faithful to its style, Azerbaijan resorts to provocations thereby showing that it not only continues ‘sniping war’, but is also ready to use their air defense forces.
“We must get accustomed to everything and be ready and, of course, respond to this all – and even more – for them to always realize,” he said.
In response to a remark that this is an unprecedented incident, Mr Poghosyan said that year by year Azerbaijan’s actions are becoming more and more “unprecedented.”
“So we must once more be convinced that our war is not over,” he said.
As regards the Armenia’s side’s response, he said that Armenian military command has repeatedly stated that no provocation will go unpunished.
“This is evidence of Azerbaijan constantly getting ready for war. It is not only damage to the Nagorno-Karabakh air forces, but also a message to the international community that Azerbaijan’s only aim is hostilities and it is prepared for that,” Mr Poghosyan said.
Deputy Director of the Institute of Literature Vardan Devrikyan, who participated in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, said that Azerbaijan’s action was a cynical provocation. The following conclusion must be made: even if an aircraft overflies Nagorno-Karabakh, it must have security guarantees.
“Azerbaijan has done it, and the international community will ‘digest’ its action, and our steps will not be effective. Effectiveness means being strong and throwing them into panic,” Mr Devrikyan said.
Azerbaijan does not miss a single chance to escalate tensions. The Armenian side must draw lessons from the incident and, besides drawing political conclusions, become invulnerable both on the land and in the air.
Armenia must give adequate response to Azerbaijan - Armenian News | Tert.am
Azerbaijan still sniping at supposed location of helicopter crash – Senor Asratyan
Azerbaijan’s armed forces are still sniping at the supposed location of the hit helicopter of the Nagorno-Karabakh air forces, Head of the Press Service, NKR Defense Army, Senor Asratyan told Tert.am.
“No information on the victims is available. We will inform you as soon as we know anything,” he said.
Azerbaijan still sniping at supposed location of helicopter crash – Senor Asratyan - Armenian News | Tert.am
Downing helicopter in Artsakh is challenge for Russia: expert
Downing of a helicopter operating a training flight in Nagorno Karabakh is a challenge for Russia, according to an expert of the Russian-Armenian Commonwealth.
A Mi-24 helicopter of the Karabakh army was shot during a training flight as result of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani armed forces at about 1pm local time. According to the NKR Defense Ministry, the attack took place not far from the line of contact. Azeris then continued firing in the direction of the site.
According to Denis Dvornikov, such behavior could lead to large-scale hostilities. “In this case, the Russian army will at least have to defend the civilian population in Artsakh,” he told
PanARMENIAN.Net adding that the incident is the result of Azerbaijani commanders’ fatal stupidity or a well-thought provocation to ‘set South Caucasus on fire.’
As to the measures to be taken by the Armenian side, Dvornikov said the most important thing is not to lose temper.
“The first wish would of course be to force the aggressor into the cold waters of the Caspian Sea. However, everything should be done to find a diplomatic solution,” he said, adding that the international institutions should call the killers to account.
On his Facebook page, Dvornikov posted: “A friendly talk with an aggressor is equal to loss of reputation. Politicians, who continue chewing the Caspian caviar and turn blind eye to the situation, are acting against the interests of the international community. We are on the verge of a big fire in the South Caucasus and a new war will be different from the previous one. It will bring humanitarian catastrophe and possible involvement of Iran and turkey will turn the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict into a full-scale slaughter. Is this what the people in Azerbaijan want?”
Downing helicopter in Artsakh is challenge for Russia: expert - PanARMENIAN.Net
