Consequences of Armenian helicopter accident

NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai has urged the sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to show moderation in the context of the Armenian helicopter recently shot down by Azerbaijani forces. The OSCE had earlier expressed concerns over the fresh violence in the region.

The EU has expressed full support for the OSCE Minsk Group and its three co-chairs. It called for moderation and avoidance of any actions and statements that could escalate the situation.

Ismail Agakishiyev, vice president of the Consulting-Analysis-PR Union of Companies, an expert of Vestnik Kavkaza, called the incident a predictable result of the forces who had organized the military drills on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. He called them a threat to security of the republic. In his opinion, the drills were a provocation from the very beginning and were exacerbated by the fact that the Armenian Armed Forces violated the border.

Agakishiyev noted that people who had come to power via the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict wanted the tensions to continue. He reminded that Armenia had serious economic problems, forcing the population to emigrate. Not a week passes without protests from the unemployed, he said. The expert assured that the authorities used the provocation to draw public attention away from internal problems to the unsettled conflict, knowing the risk the military were in.

They should have used the money wasted on drills to pay pensions, scholarships, social benefits, housing construction for people left homeless after the earthquake of 1988, stated Agakishiyev.

Sergey Mikheyev, deputy head of the Editorial Council of Vestnik Kavkaza, the director general of the Institute for Caspian Cooperation, sees possible aggravations. In his opinion, the war has never ended, there have been constant shootings, but the helicopter certainly topped the previous incidents. The analyst believes that it will only make matters worse.

Alexander Karavayev, a political analyst, deputy director general of the MSU IAC Center for Studies of Post-Soviet Space, predicts a negative impact of the incident on relations in the following several months. However, he does not expect the helicopter story to make a change in the strategic aspects of the situation.

Sergey Markov, a Russian political analyst, the head of the Russian Public Chamber commission for international cooperation and public diplomacy, the director of the Institute for Political Studies, assumes that the events that happened yesterday could have a positive effect on the peace process in Nagorno-Karabakh because it was a blow to the “war party” in Yerevan. It will be a good lesson for the Armenian authorities, so that they would not put the country in a bad position and make it look like an aggressor. Moreover, it should make the Armenian military more cautious, he added.

On the other hand, it is important for the Azerbaijani authorities to show progress to the public. A powerful enemy machine was shot down, airspace was protected, convincing the public that the policy of the country’s leaders was correct, explained Markov. Overall, absurd as it may sound, the incident may actually contribute to a reduction of tensions, the expert concludes.

NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai has urged the sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to show moderation in the context of the Armenian helicopter recently shot down by Azerbaijani forces. The OSCE had earlier expressed concerns over the new violence in the region.The EU has expressed full support of the OSCE Minsk Group and its three co-chairs. It called for moderation and avoidance of any actions and statements that could escalate the situation.Ismail Agakishiyev, vice president of the Consulting-Analysis-PR Union of Companies, an expert of Vestnik Kavkaza, called the incident a predictable result of forces who had organized the military drills on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. He called them a threat to security of the republic. In his opinion, the drills were a provocation from the very beginning and were exacerbated by the fact that Armenian Armed Forces violated the border.Agakishiyev noted that people who had come to power via the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict wanted to continue the tensions. He reminded that Armenia had serious economic problems forcing the population to emigrate. Not a week passes without protests of the unemployed, he said. The expert assured that authorities used the provocation to draw public attention from interior problems to the unsettled conflict, knowing the risk the military wee at.They should have used the money wasted on drills to pay pensions, scholarships, social benefits, housing construction for people left homeless after the earthquake of 1988, stated Agakishiyev. Sergey Mikheyev, deputy head of the Editorial Council of Vestnik Kavkaza, the director general of the Institute for Caspian Cooperation, sees possible aggravations. In his opinion, the war has never ended, there have been constant shootings, but the helicopter certainly topped the previous incidents. The analyst believes that it will only make matters worse.Alexander Karavayev, a political analyst, deputy director general of the MSU IAC Center for Studies of the Post-Soviet Space, predicts a negative impact of the incident on relations in the following several months. However, he does not expect the helicopter story to make a change in the strategic aspects of the situation.Sergey Markov, a Russian political analyst, the head of the Russian Public Chamber commission for international cooperation and public diplomacy, the director of the Institute for Political Studies, assumes that the events that happened yesterday could have a positive effect on the peace process in Nagorno-Karabakh because it was a blow for the “war party” in Yerevan. It will be a good lesson for Armenian authorities, so that they would not put the country in a bad position and make it look like an aggressor. Moreover, it should make the Armenian military more cautious, he added.On the other hand, it is important for Azerbaijani authorities to show progress to the public. A powerful enemy machine was shot down, airspace was protected, convincing the public that the policy of the country’s leaders was correct, explained Markov. Overall, absurd as it may sound, the incident may actually contribute to reduction of tensions, concludes the exp