Armenia's Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan assured reporters, Thursday that Armenia would not exchange the arrested Azeri raiders for the bodies of the three pilots killed in downing of Armenian helicopter. The minister said the raiders are criminals and must be punished within the law.
Seyran Ohanyan informed reporters that Yerevan is actively working on a diplomatic management of the crisis around the downed Mi-24 helicopter.
"If this option fails, we have other means to use," Ohanyan said.
Armenian military is still unable to approach the wreckage of the Mi-24 helicopter and the three members of its crew presumed dead, although a week has passed already.
Azerbaijani party did not provide security guarantees to OSCE CiO PR Andrzej Kasprzyk, who wished to approach the helicopter wreckage earlier on Wednesday.
To remind, 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.
The idea of exchanging the raiders for pilots belongs to Azeri experts.