Yerevan /Mediamax/. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern said that Armenia was able to return the remains of the 3 killed airmen, which is a "respectful step”.

While answering the questions of Mediamax and News.am, U.S. Ambassador stated that they have followed the developments around the dawned helicopter very carefully, having a continuous consulting with Washington.

“What impressed me the most from my meeting with the Armenian Minister of Defense was the fact that he was focused on retrieval of the remains of the three killed airmen. And that’s exactly what he was able to do. I have a great respect for him for his focus on that, and for his ability to get that done”, John Heffern noted.

The ambassador told that 3 days after the dawning of the helicopter Armenian Defense Minister asked the Co-chairs to urge Azerbaijan to assist with the retrieval of the remains.

“I’ve talked on the phone to [U.S. Co-Chair] James Warlick, later we have talked to his French and Russian counterparts. And, probably the next day the co-chairs issued a statement. I was pleased that we were able to do the specific thing that the Minister had asked us to do. I don’t know whether the co-chairs have helped with that. But we were able to do what Mr. Ohanyan asked us to do”,- concluded Heffern.