WASHINGTON (A.W.)—The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs released a statement expressing “deep concern” over the inaccessibility of the crash site of the Artsakh helicopter that was downed by Azerbaijan on Nov. 12.
The Co-Chairs—Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the U.S., and Pierre Andrieu of France—“remain deeply concerned that there has been no humanitarian access to the crash site,” began the statement released on Nov. 19. “The wreckage of the helicopter lies in a heavily mined area of neutral territory on the Line of Contact.”
The Co-Chairs called on both sides to stop the gunfire so that the site could be demined and the bodies of the three pilots could be recovered. The statement also noted that the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and his team are in the region, ready to assist. (Full statement can be found at the end of this article)
Armenian troops have been unable to approach the downed helicopter. The three crew members have been identified as Maj. Sergey Sahakyan, Sr. Lt. Sargis Nazaryan, and Lt. Azat Sahakyan. According to initial reports, one of the three pilots aboard the helicopter may have been alive.
“An NKR Defense Ministry representative said one of the pilots may be alive, but the Azeri side hasn’t stopped the intensive shooting around the territory of the incident. At this moment, there is no update, and the situation remains the same,” Artak Beglaryan, spokesperson for NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan, told the Armenian Weekly on Nov. 14.
“It is apparent that Azerbaijan not only broke the ceasefire regime with a serious provocation, but continues to violate humanitarian laws by preventing the Armenian side from approaching the downed helicopter and potentially saving the life of the pilot. The International Red Cross Mission [ICRC] has already confirmed that it received a request from NKR. Hopefully they will react promptly to save the life of our pilot,” said Beglaryan.
The Artsakh State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons appealed to the ICRC on Nov. 13, informing them of the continued gunfire that prevented the Armenian side from reaching the flight crew.
To note, following the downing of the helicopter, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs released a statement on Nov. 12, expressing “serious concern” over the attack, and appealed to both sides to adhere to the ceasefire. The Co-Chairs fell short of unequivocally condemning the attack as an act of aggression by Azerbaijan, instead opting to address both countries.
Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian criticized the Minsk Group statement. “…The OSCE’s public response once again falls back into the deeply flawed pattern of placing equal blame on both sides for hostility that all the world knows is being directed by one man, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan,” he said.
In a Nov. 13 statement, NKR’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attack “an unprecedented violation of the ceasefire fraught with serious escalation of tension.”
“This criminal and adventurous provocation by Azerbaijan… demonstrated its total disregard towards the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries and the international community as a whole,” read the statement, which also underlined the need for the adoption of measures to “de-escalate the tension,” to investigate the ceasefire violations, and to identify “the true perpetrator” of those violations. The statement further noted that “untargeted” calls for adherence to the ceasefire further embolden Azerbaijan with “a false sense of permissiveness and impunity.”
The downed helicopter was on a training flight as part of joint Armenia-Artsakh military drills in the area. The “Unity 2014” exercises involved over 30,000 troops, 3,000 armored vehicles, artillery, and air defense units, according to the NKR Defense Ministry website.
The Azeri Defense Ministry has already honored an officer with “a third degree medal For Distinguished Military Service” for shooting down the Mi-24 helicopter, reported Azeri sources.
***
Below is the Nov. 19 OSCE statement:
Statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs
MOSCOW / PARIS / WASHINGTON, 19 November 2014 – 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 wreckage of the helicopter lies in a heavily mined area of neutral territory on the Line of Contact.
We 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.
This useless bunch of Azeri lover puppets are always “deeply concerned”, this is as far as they want to go. They always avoided condemning Azeri aggressions. This spineless group should be dissolved!
“Deeply concerned”? The only thing they are deeply concerned about is the investments that they have made in both countries which may be lost if war resumes.. If they are ‘so concerned’ then let them go get the wreckage. Everyone knows that they are useless committee that actually contributes to the situation by emboldening the criminal state of Azerbaijan with their impotent useless remarks.. Therefore they need be ignored from here on out.
Armenia needs to STOP ALL NEGOTIATIONS. And intelligent, timely retaliation is a must! These criminals need to feel pain.
“remain deeply concerned”? is the Minsk group really serious and if so they should make demands and get the ball rolling. All they do as that other useless mob the UN does is talk and forget about action. The Minsk group is falling into the same trap. One is elling arms, the other is waiting for oil and the other has it’s own agenda – so where is the “ACTION” group. I am afraid it is all self preservation. Shame on all for this charade.
{“An NKR Defense Ministry representative said one of the pilots may be alive, but the Azeri side hasn’t stopped the intensive shooting around the territory of the incident….”}
Yep, more Protecting Humanitarian Norms.
Clearly Avoiding Escalation.
The silence from my friends is deafening.
The usual load of horse manure coming from the Minsk group.