BAKU, (TDI): Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Monday accused Russia of being “guilty” for the downing of an Azerbaijani plane last month, which Baku claims was shot down by Russian air defenses.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 jet crash-landed in Kazakhstan on December 25, killing 38 of the 67 people aboard. The aircraft had been diverted from its scheduled landing in Grozny, a city in southern Russia.
Moscow acknowledged that its air defenses were active in the area at the time, citing attacks by Ukrainian drones. While Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the “incident” occurring in Russian airspace, he has not addressed allegations that the plane was struck by Russian weaponry.
“The responsibility for the deaths of Azerbaijani citizens lies with representatives of the Russian Federation,” President Aliyev said in a statement issued by his office after meeting with survivors and the families of the crew members who perished in the crash.
In a rare and sharp criticism of Moscow, Aliyev demanded an apology, an admission of guilt, and the prosecution of those responsible for what he called the “criminal” shooting of the aircraft. He condemned Russia’s “concealment” of the circumstances and the “absurd explanations” being offered, which he said had provoked “justifiable anger” in Azerbaijan.
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Initial claims by Russia’s air transport agency that the plane had diverted due to a bird strike have sparked outrage in Baku. Aliyev pointed out that air defense measures in Grozny, the plane’s intended destination, were announced only after the aircraft had been “shot from the ground.”
“If Russian airspace was under threat, the plane’s captain should have been informed immediately,” Aliyev said. He also criticized the decision to redirect the plane hundreds of kilometers across the Caspian Sea to Aktau, Kazakhstan, for an emergency landing.
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“Why it was sent to Aktau remains unclear,” he added.
Azerbaijan’s preliminary investigation concluded that the plane was accidentally hit by a Russian air defense missile. Russia has launched its own investigation but has not confirmed Baku’s findings.
The aircraft’s black boxes have been sent to Brazil for analysis.
