United States Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. has released a statement in connection with the Armenian helicopter’s downing by Azerbaijan. 

“I am outraged and saddened by the Azerbaijani attack on the Nagorno Karabakh helicopter engaged in a training flight.  This is another instance of aggression by the Azerbaijani government towards Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia and represents an escalation in their violent actions that continue to have a destabilizing impact on the region.  There is no longer any question that President Obama must take action to discourage Azerbaijan from pursuing such violent aggression and to demonstrate our commitment to peace and stability.

“I encourage President Obama to formally condemn this deadly attack.  I am also calling for the cessation of any military assistance to Azerbaijan and the strengthening of section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, which restricts aid to Azerbaijan based on its aggression toward Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia.  It is time for both the President and Congress to ensure that U.S. law once again holds Azerbaijan accountable for its violent actions,” Congressman Pallone’s statement runs, in particular.

The Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire and shot down a Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Air Force helicopter on Wednesday. The chopper was downed during a training flight, and nearby the eastern sector of the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact. As a result, three pilots are believed to have been killed: The commander of the helicopter, Major Sergey Sahakyan, and Senior Lieutenant Sargis Nazaryan and Lieutenant Azat Sahakyan. Information was disseminated some time thereafter, however, that a member of the helicopter crew may still be alive The adversary, on the other hand, continues to intensively fire shots toward the crash site.   

The OSCE Minsk Group, Armenia MFA, European Union, and United Nations representatives already have condemned this incident.    

In addition, NKR has petitioned to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), with a request to help determine the fate of the three crew members of this helicopter.