Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan this week was damaged by gunfire from the ground in Russia. He also accused Moscow of trying to conceal the cause of a deadly jet crash and called on Russia to admit “guilt” in the disaster.
According to Azerbaijan state television, President Aliyev said he regretted that “some circles” in Russia had tried to hide the truth about the crash by spreading falsehoods about the causes of the crash, which killed all 67 people on board. 38 people were killed. Informed.
Baku expressed regret that Moscow “put forward theories” that “clearly show that the Russian side wanted to hide the issue”, it said.
“The fact is that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged outside Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control,” Aliyev said in televised comments, according to the state news agency, Azertag.
“We also know that electronic warfare systems have sent our aircraft out of control,” he said. “Also, as a result of ground fire, the rear section of the aircraft was also seriously damaged,” he said.
He added that “definitely,” the “Azerbaijani plane” had crashed. Certainly, there can be no talk of a deliberate act of terrorism here.
“Therefore, admitting the crime, apologizing in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this – all these measures and steps should have been taken,” he said.
Putin’s “apology”
It came as Russian President Vladimir Putin “apologized” to Aliyev on Saturday for the incident, which the Kremlin called a “tragic incident”, but he refused to acknowledge that it could have been hit by Russian fire. Is.
However, Putin acknowledged that Russian air defenses were working when the passenger plane tried to land in Grozny before it crashed. Moscow had earlier said that Grozny, where the plane was supposed to land but crashed in western Kazakhstan, was attacked by Ukrainian drones that day.
The Kremlin said Putin apologized to Azerbaijan’s leader Aliyev in a phone call over the “tragic incident,” but did not say whether Russian air defense shot down the plane.
Azerbaijan’s allegations
Earlier, Azerbaijan’s transport minister said the plane that crashed on December 25 was the victim of “external interference” and was damaged inside and outside as it was trying to land in Russia’s southern republic of Chechnya.
“All (survivors) without exception said they heard three explosions when the plane was over Grozny,” Rashad Nabiyev said.
In an earlier statement issued after Putin’s phone call with Aliyev, the Baku president showed no doubt that the plane was hit over Russia.
“President Ilham Aliyev stressed that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane suffered external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control,” the statement said.
Aliyev’s office said Baku also demanded an investigation “to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”