The President of Azerbaijan has stated that the plane crash in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was likely caused by “fire” from Russian territory, with evidence indicating it may have been struck by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.
Baku, Azerbaijan (DT) – In an interview with state media on Sunday, Aliyev demanded that Moscow admit responsibility for the disaster and cease attempts to cover up the cause.
“We have clearly expressed our demands to the Russian side,” said President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with AZERTAC news agency.
“These demands were officially communicated to them on December 27. What do they consist of? First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must acknowledge its guilt. Third, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility, and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state, as well as to the injured passengers and crew members.
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These are our conditions. The first of these was fulfilled yesterday.
I hope the other conditions will also be accepted. All these demands are fair. There are no extraordinary requests or issues here; all of this is based on international experience and normal human conduct,” the head of state emphasized.
The AZAL flight, which was attempting to land in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya region, is believed to have been hit by a Russian air defense system.
Aliyev claimed that the plane was damaged by fire from the ground and electronic warfare systems, which caused it to almost lose control.
He criticized Russia for initially suggesting theories, including a bird strike, to explain the crash—describing them as “absurd” and out of touch with reality, given the damage to the plane’s fuselage.
Azerbaijani President claimed that the passenger plane had been damaged by accidental gunfire from the ground in Russia.
Aliyev stated, “Our plane was shot down by accident,” and added that the aircraft had been subjected to electronic jamming before coming under fire while approaching the southern Russian city of Grozny.
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