The Azerbaijani presidential administration considers inappropriate the statements of Ambassador to Moscow Polad Bulbul-oglu about the incident with the Russian Mi-24 helicopter shot down over the territory of Armenia. This was announced on November 13 by Hikmet Hajiyev, an assistant to the Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev.
He stated that the words of the ambassador are unacceptable, and such an incident will not harm Russian-Azerbaijani relations. In addition, Hajiyev criticized the diplomat for statements on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The heads of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic missions abroad and other officials should refrain from arbitrary statements that contradict the official position of the country and the policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev,” the Azertac state agency quotes him.
The day before, the Azerbaijani ambassador commented on the tragedy with the Mi-24 with the words “in war as in war – anything can happen”, which caused sharp criticism from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that if Moscow adhered to the same principle, the response for the downed helicopter would be crushing. However, Russia heard Baku’s apology and admission of guilt.
The Foreign Ministry noted that they would not tolerate “any ambiguous statements” and called for an early investigation of the incident and subsequent punishment of those responsible.
On November 9, a Russian military helicopter Mi-24 was shot down in the airspace of Armenia outside the combat zone of the Karabakh conflict by the Azerbaijani military.
The aircraft commander and onboard technician were killed. The navigator managed to escape but was seriously injured. The Ministry of Defense, Foreign Ministry and the President of Azerbaijan apologized to the Russian side, calling the incident a tragic accident.
According to Baku, the helicopter flew outside the radar visibility zone at night. Azerbaijan has promised to punish those responsible and pay compensation to the families of the victims.
A criminal case was opened in Russia over the helicopter shot down over Armenia.
On November 10, hostilities were stopped in Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a statement, according to which Russian peacekeepers were sent to the region.