Tensions brewing between Azerbaijan and Armenia are closely watched by global leaders. While Russia has picked Armenia's side, Turkey is supporting Azerbaijan in the ongoingNagorno-Karabakh border dispute. Even though Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that his country was doing everything it could to end the ongoing conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, a new development in the conflicted region paints a different story.
Azerbaijan shot down Russia's Mi-24 military helicopter over the Armenia/Azerbaijan border region and called it an accident. As a result, two crew members were killed and a third was injured, the defense ministry in Moscow said on Monday.
Footage has also been shared on social media after it was obtained from Russian Telegram channels, showing the missile target the chopper.
Video from Russian telegram claims to show the moment the Russian Mi-24 got shot down by a missile near the Armenia-Azerbaijan border pic.twitter.com/O05xEopEMc
— Woofers (@NotWoofers) November 9, 2020
Azerbaijan says sorry!
Azerbaijan was quick to issue an apology and clarifying its stand. The foreign ministry said that it was not an intended attack or even aimed against Moscow. The helicopter was reportedly flying at a low altitude over the disputed region of Nakhchivan, which is about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from Nagorno-Karabakhwhile in was dark.
"The Azerbaijani side offers an apology to the Russian side in connection with this tragic incident," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it was willing to compensate the families of the deceased servicemen while offering condolences. The decision to open fire was reportedly due to heightened tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a serious conflict for the last six weeks over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which falls under Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenians since 1994. At least 1,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict. Recently, Azerbaijan announced that it had captured the major city of Shushi, but Armenia has denied the claim.
"Shusha is ours. Karabakh is ours," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a televised address to the nation, adding that "(This day) will become a great day in the history of Azerbaijan."
