"The statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on downing of the helicopter on the front-line is a provocation, absurd and illogical," Parliament Vice-Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov said on November 20, according to APA news agency.
"We have a problem like Nagorno-Karabakh. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs issued a provocative statement that the wreckage of the helicopter lies in a neutral zone. We consider the statement absurd. The area where the helicopter was downed is the territory of Azerbaijan. All the three co-chair countries recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' statement is a provocation, absurd and illogical," he said. The OSCE MG Co-Chairs issues a statement wherein they say that the wreckage of the helicopter lies in a heavily mined area of neutral territory on the Line of Contact and that they 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 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," the statement reads.
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.