President of Armenia flies to Nagorno-Karabakh aboard helicopter

The president’s visit follows the downing of a Karabakh armed forces’ military helicopter on November 12 which was on a routine training mission by Azerbaijani forces east of the line of contact between Armenian forces of Karabakh and Azerbaijani troops near Aghdam. 

According to some reports, the helicopter’s three crew members were killed. 

 Writing on his Facebook page, Armenian defense ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan called the downing of the helicopter an "unprecedented provocation that leads to an escalation in the situation." Hovhannisyan said Azerbaijani troops were firing on the location where the helicopter crashed and called Azerbaijani claims that the helicopter attacked Azerbaijani troops "absurd." 

 "The consequences for the Azerbaijani side will be very painful, and all responsibility will rest with the Azeri political leadership," he wrote. After the incident Azerbaijani foreign ministry has declared the airspace over ‘the occupied territories" – a term Azerbaijan uses when referring to Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas controlled by Armenian forces of Nagorno-Karabakh, closed. 

In retaliation the chief of Karabakh president’s press office, David Babayan, said “the airspace over Karabakh is really closed, but only for the Azerbaijani air force.” 

President Sargsyan’s press office said he and NKR president Bako Sahakyan, the defense ministers of the two Armenian states and senior commanders will participate in the ongoing joint tactical exercises dubbed "Unity 2014". 

President Sargsyan will visit also a number of military units to inspect the combat readiness of the troops and will observe part of the drills. Prior to the flying to Nagorno-Karabakh president Sargsyan visited a shooting ground of a military unit in Gegharkunik region of Armenia to watch a tactical combat shooting training..-0-