By shooting down the Karabakh Armed Forces' helicopter, Azerbaijan has gained revenge, Stepan Safaryan, Head of the Armenian Institute for International and Security Affairs, said at today's press conference.
"These actions were conditioned by three factors, particularly, by the advance of the Armenian troops into Nakhijevan's positions in the spring of 2014, suppression of the Azeri sabotage group and escalation of the tension in July-August 2014", said the expert. In this context, he added that by firing at the site of the downing and preventing the Armenian side from taking the bodies of the crewmembers, Azerbaijan wants to focus the attention on the Armenian side's strengthlessness.
Safaryan also thinks that Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk's statement that the Mission was unable to approach the site because the Azeri side did not guarantee its security demonstrates that the OSCE Minsk Group's powers are limited.
"By such behavior Azerbaijan has launched an open challenge against the international structures and the OSCE should draw relevant conclusions", he said. Safaryan thinks that even if one more round of high- level talks is organized, Armenia is unlikely to agree to discuss any issues after that incident. At the same time, he believes that Armenia should give a response that will resolve the problem without aggravating the situation.
He also thinks that Turkey and Russia are interested in escalation of tension in the region. "Turkey wants the OSCE MG format to be dissolved. In that case it would have an opportunity to influence the negotiations process", he stressed. As regards Russia, it is concerned over the launch of the TransAdriatic Pipeline (TAP).
To recall, the Azerbaijani 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.