OSCE observers refuse to inspect the helicopter crash place in Karabakh conflict zone

On Wednesday, November 19, the monitoring tour conducted by the OSCE mission on the troops contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh passed without incidents, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). However, the observers, despite the demand of the Karabakh party, refused to visit the place, where the Mi-24 helicopter was shot down by Azerbaijani militaries.

"No violations of ceasefire violations were fixed. The monitoring mission was accompanied by officials of the MFA and Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the NKR," said the release of the MFA.

Earlier, the NKR's authorities insisted that the OSCE mission should inspect the helicopter crash place and ceasefire violations.

Armen Sarkisyan, the MFA's spokesman, found it difficult to answer the question of whether the OSCE mission would inspect the crash site of the downed helicopter.

Movses Akopyan, the head of the MoD of the NKR, expressed his hope, during his meeting with Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, that the OSCE will do its best for the final clarification of the fate of the crew of the helicopter and for undertaking the consequent measures.

Negotiations on the "evacuation of the crew of the downed helicopter continue," but "the course of negotiations is not disclosed," a representative of the Red Cross mission in the NKR said the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.