Posted by 
Spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev has issued a statement on the 23rd anniversary of the downing of the helicopter with Azerbaijani political elite on board by Armenians, APA reports.
The statement says that on November 20, 1991, Armenians shot down the helicopter with state officials, parliamentarians and journalists of Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan on board in Merzili village of Aghdam region near Garakend village of Khojavand region of the Azerbaijani Republic. As a result, 22 people were killed.
A series of investigative operations revealed that the downing of the helicopter was prearranged by Armenia’s security agencies. As part of its invasion and aggression against Azerbaijan, Armenia continued committing terrorist acts against Azerbaijan in the following years as well; a number of aircrafts carrying civilians were shot down, more than 30 terrorist attacks were committed in different means of transportation, including the subway.
Hajiyev said that as a result of the Garakend tragedy committed by Armenia in 20 November 1991, some high ranking officials and socio-political figures who were on a trip to the region with a peaceful initiative were killed and a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the initial stage was hindered.
“This fact is another proof that Armenia’s real ambition is to prevent a peaceful resolution of the conflict and invade Azerbaijani territories. Following these traditions, Armenia continues to commit provocative acts whenever an initiative on the peaceful settlement of the conflict is put forward and tries every means to undermine the process of negotiations,” he added.
Apa.az
