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| Azerbaijan apologizes for shooting down Russia's helicopter, offers compensation |
| 2020-11-10 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Azerbaijan admitted on Monday it had shot down a Russian helicopter on its border with Armenia and apologized. "The Azerbaijani side offers an apology to the Russian side in connection with this tragic incident," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The ministry added that the move was an “accident” and "not aimed against" Moscow and offered to pay compensation. Russia’s defense ministry had said that on of its Mi-24 helicopters was downed over Armenia near the border with Azerbaijan, killing two crew members and injuring another. Moscow said its helicopter was accompanying a vehicle convoy near Nakhchivan but didn't clarify the purpose of the convoy. Russia has a large military base in Armenia, but it is about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from where the helicopter was shot down. Nakhchivan is about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said the helicopter flew at a low altitude during hours of darkness and close to the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Helicopters of the Russian air force had not been previously sighted in the area," the statement added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 [Azeris and] Turks have a decent knack at shooting down Russian aircraft. |
| Posted by: Clem 2020-11-10 20:13 |
| #2 "Azerbaijan apologizes for shooting down Russia's helicopter" "Oops!" Solly, Chahlee. ;-) |
| Posted by: Barbara 2020-11-10 19:03 |
| #1 Reason Armenia could not join NATO: Russian military base deployed in Armenia in 1996 (before that, installation was known as the 127th MRD of the Soviet Ground Forces). The treaty states that Russian military will be in the base for 25 years. Armenian authorities said that this time-frame can be reviewed. Russia does not pay for the military base stationed in Gyumri. Armenia takes care of all public utilities water, electricity, etc. In 1997, Armenia and Russia signed a far-reaching friendship treaty, which calls for mutual assistance in the event of a military threat to either party and allows Russian border guards to patrol Armenia’s frontiers with Turkey and Iran. |
| Posted by: b 2020-11-10 10:52 |