Azerbaijan shoots down Russian helicopter by accident, apologises

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that Azeri forces downed a Russian helicopter near its border with Armenia by accident, expressing apologies to Moscow and readiness to pay compensation.

Russia's Defence Ministry said earlier on Monday that one of its Mi-24 helicopters had been shot down over Armenia near the border with a region belonging to Azerbaijan, killing two crew members and injuring another. 

The helicopter was downed using a man-portable air-defence system, the defence ministry said in a statement.