John Heffern does not hide his admiration with Armenia's Defense Minister

The focus of Defense Minster of
Armenia Seyran Ohanyan about the helicopter developments is worth of respect,
John Heffern, the US Ambassador to Armenia, told reporters.

"What impressed me the most about my meeting with
the Minister of Defense was his focus on retrieval of the remains of the three
airmen killed on the helicopter. His primary focus was to get the remains back
to their families for a respectful and honorable burial", Heffern
stressed.

"That's exactly what he was able to do. So I have
a great respect for him his focus on that, and for his ability to get that
done, he said and added that Minister Ohanyan asked for one thing: a statement
on behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to urge Azerbaijan to assist with
the recovery of servicemen's bodies.

"It was early in the process, three days after
the downing of the helicopter. I've talked over the phone to the OSCE MG
co-chairs. And, probably the next day, the co-chairs did issue a statement
calling for exactly that", Heffern underscored. Whether that statement
actually prove helpful is not obvious, but, Heffern added, it was very
important for him that the diplomats we were able to fully meet the Minister's
request.

To recall, a Mi-24 helicopter of the NKR Defense Army
was downed, in a violation of the ceasefire, on November 12, in the eastern
sector of the line of contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijan. The adversary
has been holding the crash site under a heavy fire for several days, denying
access to the crew members on board. On November 22 the NKR Army has conducted
a successful operation to retrieve the bodies. The body of one pilot and
remains of two others, as well as pieces of fuselage have been removed.