Congresswoman vows to examine how Baku got U.S.-made copters

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has promised to examine the issue of how U.S.-made helicopters appeared in the Azerbaijani army.

Deputy Armenian parliament speaker Arpine Hovhannisyan said on a Facebook post on Tuesday, June 26 she had a phone call with Gabbard, who pledged to let Hovhannisyan know about the results of her analysis.

Media reports suggested days earlier that the Azerbaijani Air Force will demonstrate Bell-412 helicopters for the first time in a fly-past at the country’s military parade in Baku on Tuesday.

Bell-412 copters are produced by Bell Helicopter, an American aerospace manufacturer, and it is unclear how they reached Baku, given the U.S. embargo on weapons sale to Azerbaijan.

In the fall of 1992, the U.S. Congress banned non-humanitarian economic aid and weapons sales to Azerbaijan by adopting Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.

Hovhannisyan had sent a letter to Members of Congress Gabbard and Jackie Speier asking them to examine the issue in detail.