ArmInfo.American helicopters acquired by Azerbaijan have a civilian purpose; they cannot be used for military purposes. Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said this on October 24 at a briefing commenting on the acquisition by Azerbaijan of American helicopters.
"The arms race is always on the agenda of the Armenian side and we urge the international community to avoid actions that contribute to the arms race in our region or the spread of instability," said the Spokeswoman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
In addition, as Naghdalyan pointed out, the Armenian side was assured that American helicopters are being bought for civilian use, that is, they are envisaged for civilian use. ''We were assured that these are helicopters of civilian use, for emergency situations, and cannot have military applications. This also applies to purchases of weapons through third countries, " Anna Naghdalyan said.
To recall, on July 2, at a briefing in Yerevan, former Spokesman of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan, referring to the demonstration of American-made Bell-412 helicopters at a military parade in Baku, called not to believe everything that is written in the media. According to him, the Armenian side started the proceedings on this issue much earlier and found out that such helicopters are produced in several countries under American licenses, and they are intended for non-combat use. Earlier in the network, information appeared that Azerbaijan purchased American helicopters MD-530F. Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said that during the military parade on June 26, state-of-the- art systems, including US Bell 412, MI-24 helicopters, will be presented. It is noteworthy that the United States previously declared a moratorium on the sale of arms to the parties to the Karabakh conflict.
To recall after the collapse of the USSR, in August 1992, the House of Representatives and the US Senate jointly adopted the Freedom Support Act, which provides for assistance to Russia and other newly independent states in order to create a model of democratic governance and a liberal economy. In 1992, taking into account the war provoked against Nagorno-Karabakh, thanks to the work of the Armenian community and lobbyists, the 907th Resolution was included in the text of the Freedom Support Act, prohibiting the US government to render any assistance to Azerbaijan until the US president is assured and, therefore, reports to Congress that official Baku is taking effective steps to unblock Armenia and does not use force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. After the events of September 11, 2001, on the basis of the presence of a direct threat to national security, President George W. Bush addressed the Congress, asking for an opportunity to bypass Resolution 907 in each fiscal year and provide military assistance to Azerbaijan to fight terrorism and ensure border security of Azerbaijan and antiterrorist coalition actions, assuring that this assistance will in no way interfere with the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiation process and will not be used against Armenia.