Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has issued a statement regarding today's incident, when an Armenian helicopter was shot down in Azerbaijan's airspace.

"An illegal entry of Armenian military helicopters into Azerbaijan's airspace is continuation of violent policy and aggression towards Azerbaijan, as well as policy of intrusion on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan," said the ministry's statement.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has declared its airspace over the occupied territories a no-fly zone, and, in an appropriate manner, has notified all the member states of the ICAO, said the statement.

On Nov. 12, at 13:45 (UTC/GMT +4 hours) a Mi-24 helicopter flying 1700 meters northeast of the Kengerli village of Aghdam district attacked the positions of the Azerbaijani army. One helicopter was shot down by the Azerbaijani side, while the second helicopter was forced to retreat and leave the fire zone.

The statement said that in the aftermath of the Paris meeting at the level of presidents organized at the initiative of French President Francois Holland on October 27, Armenia began large-scale military exercises with the involvement of big number of personnel and the military equipment in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and has been continuing to violate the ceasefire intensively.

"Instead of taking concrete steps towards starting to work on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement draft as an outcome of the Paris meeting, these deliberate provocative attempts of Armenia are aimed at escalating the situation, undermining the negotiation process and maintaining the current status quo," said the statement.

"The main reason for tension is the presence of the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," the statement said.

"As stated by Azerbaijan on many occasions, the Armenian side bears all responsibility for escalation of already tense situation. For the resolution of the conflict and establishment of peace and stability in the region, first and foremost, the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia must be withdrawn from the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan," said the ministry's statement.