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OSCE CO-CHAIRS URGE AZERBAIJAN TO PERMIT RECOVERY OF BODIES OF CREW OF SHOT-DOWN ARMENIAN HELICOPTER
by Tatevik Shahunyan
Thursday, November 20, 11:57
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the
Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America,
and Pierre Andrieu of France) remain deeply concerned that there
has been no humanitarian access to the crash site of the military
helicopter downed by Azerbaijani forces on November 12.
The OSCE's website quotes the co-chairs as saying that the wreckage of
the helicopter lies in a heavily mined area of neutral territory on
the Line of Contact and that they call on the sides to cease firing
in the vicinity of the crash site and facilitate the demining of the
area surrounding the site.
In the spirit of the Astrakhan statement of October 2010 between the
Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, the Co-Chairs urge
Azerbaijan to permit the recovery of the bodies of the victims,
and Armenia to cooperate fully with all efforts to resolve this
humanitarian situation.
"We note the presence of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and his team in the
region, and encourage the sides to use his good offices to allow
access. We reaffirm our November 12 statement, reminding the sides
of their responsibilities to respect the ceasefire and honor the
commitments they made in Sochi, Newport, and Paris to find a peaceful
resolution to the conflict," the co-chairs say.
To remind, the Azeri armed forces downed an Armenian Mi-24 while
it was conducting a training flight near the Line on Contact on 12
November. Three officers of the NKR Armed Forces, Sergey Sahakyan,
Sargis Nazaryan and Azat Sahakyan, were on board. The NKR State
Committee for POWs, Captives and the Missing has requested the ICRC
assistance in returning the crewmembers of the downed helicopter. The
Azeri officer that shot the helicopter down has been awarded a medal.
The Armenians are still able to find out what has happened to the crew
of the shot-down helicopter because the Azeris keep firing at the
site. Nor have they given any security guarantees to OSCE observers
wishing to monitor the area.
http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=2FFCFD50-7093-11E4-8D9D0EB7C0D21663
by Tatevik Shahunyan
Thursday, November 20, 11:57
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the
Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America,
and Pierre Andrieu of France) remain deeply concerned that there
has been no humanitarian access to the crash site of the military
helicopter downed by Azerbaijani forces on November 12.
The OSCE's website quotes the co-chairs as saying that the wreckage of
the helicopter lies in a heavily mined area of neutral territory on
the Line of Contact and that they call on the sides to cease firing
in the vicinity of the crash site and facilitate the demining of the
area surrounding the site.
In the spirit of the Astrakhan statement of October 2010 between the
Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, the Co-Chairs urge
Azerbaijan to permit the recovery of the bodies of the victims,
and Armenia to cooperate fully with all efforts to resolve this
humanitarian situation.
"We note the presence of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and his team in the
region, and encourage the sides to use his good offices to allow
access. We reaffirm our November 12 statement, reminding the sides
of their responsibilities to respect the ceasefire and honor the
commitments they made in Sochi, Newport, and Paris to find a peaceful
resolution to the conflict," the co-chairs say.
To remind, the Azeri armed forces downed an Armenian Mi-24 while
it was conducting a training flight near the Line on Contact on 12
November. Three officers of the NKR Armed Forces, Sergey Sahakyan,
Sargis Nazaryan and Azat Sahakyan, were on board. The NKR State
Committee for POWs, Captives and the Missing has requested the ICRC
assistance in returning the crewmembers of the downed helicopter. The
Azeri officer that shot the helicopter down has been awarded a medal.
The Armenians are still able to find out what has happened to the crew
of the shot-down helicopter because the Azeris keep firing at the
site. Nor have they given any security guarantees to OSCE observers
wishing to monitor the area.
http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=2FFCFD50-7093-11E4-8D9D0EB7C0D21663