Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for keeping the issue “silent” for days. tried to
“We can say with full clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (…) We are not saying that it was done deliberately, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television. Told to
Aliyev said the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday came under fire from the ground over Russia and “became uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, and said he was “disturbed and surprised” by the events presented by Russian officials.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing but a mock version from Russia,” he said.
38 of the 67 people on board died in the accident. The Kremlin said air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane tried to land to intercept a Ukrainian drone strike.
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has made three demands from Russia in relation to this accident.
“First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the perpetrators, bring them to criminal liability and the state of Azerbaijan, injured passengers and crew members. Paying compensation,” he said.
Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin described the crash as a “tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging Moscow's responsibility.
Get daily national news.
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
He said investigations into the accident were ongoing, and that “the final version (of events) will be known after the black box is opened.”
He noted that Azerbaijan had always been “in favor of an international group of experts” investigating the crash, and had “flatly rejected” Russia's suggestion that citizens in the Commonwealth of Independent States The Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees aviation, should investigate it.
“It is no secret that this organization consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. Factors of objectivity cannot be fully ensured here,” Aliyev said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had again spoken to Aliyev by phone, but did not provide details of the conversation. did not
The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway at the crash site near the Kazakh city of Aktau. The plane was flying from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny when it diverted to Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers from its intended destination across the Caspian Sea, and crashed while attempting to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises as the plane circled over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said on Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in thick fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic. was closed.
The crash is the second fatal civil aviation accident related to the fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board, as it flew over eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014. flew on
Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a pro-Russian Ukrainian man in 2022 for their role in the downing of the plane by an air defense system brought from a Russian military base into Ukraine. was
and copy 2024 Canadian Press