ARMENIA CLAIMS TO HAVE RETALIATED AGAINST AZERBAIJAN FOR HELICOPTER SHOOTDOWN
EurasiaNet.org
Dec 23 2014
December 23, 2014 - 1:31pm, by Joshua Kucera
Armenia has already retaliated against Azerbaijan for the downing of
a military helicopter last month, Armenia's defense minister has said,
without saying what the retaliation amounted to.
The Mi-24 helicopter was shot down November 12 near the line of contact
between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the disputed territory of
Nagorno Karabakh; Armenia says it was on a training flight, Azerbaijan
says it had crossed the line of contact and was planning an attack.
Armenia immediately promised to retaliate, but it wasn't clear how.
And on December 23, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said it
has already happened: "A disproportionate response to the Azerbaijani
side has been given, part of the information about the operation was
given to the public. However, it wasn't appropriate to release all
of the information."
The most significant military incident since the shootdown that was
partially reported was a heavy exchange of fire, including relatively
rare mortar attacks, in early December. The de facto Nagorno Karabakh
government claimed that five to seven Azerbaijani soldiers were
killed, though that wasn't independently confirmed. Still, even that
would seem to not meet the standard of retaliation that Armenia had
been promising.
The result of the retaliation would be "massive, painful losses for
the enemy, to disturb Azerbaijani society, to sow serious doubts in the
ruling regime, to strike a blow to the reputation of the Aliyev clan,"
said David Djamalyan, an adviser to Armenia's MoD, in an interview
earlier this month.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71466
EurasiaNet.org
Dec 23 2014
December 23, 2014 - 1:31pm, by Joshua Kucera
Armenia has already retaliated against Azerbaijan for the downing of
a military helicopter last month, Armenia's defense minister has said,
without saying what the retaliation amounted to.
The Mi-24 helicopter was shot down November 12 near the line of contact
between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the disputed territory of
Nagorno Karabakh; Armenia says it was on a training flight, Azerbaijan
says it had crossed the line of contact and was planning an attack.
Armenia immediately promised to retaliate, but it wasn't clear how.
And on December 23, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said it
has already happened: "A disproportionate response to the Azerbaijani
side has been given, part of the information about the operation was
given to the public. However, it wasn't appropriate to release all
of the information."
The most significant military incident since the shootdown that was
partially reported was a heavy exchange of fire, including relatively
rare mortar attacks, in early December. The de facto Nagorno Karabakh
government claimed that five to seven Azerbaijani soldiers were
killed, though that wasn't independently confirmed. Still, even that
would seem to not meet the standard of retaliation that Armenia had
been promising.
The result of the retaliation would be "massive, painful losses for
the enemy, to disturb Azerbaijani society, to sow serious doubts in the
ruling regime, to strike a blow to the reputation of the Aliyev clan,"
said David Djamalyan, an adviser to Armenia's MoD, in an interview
earlier this month.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71466