Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev mentioned Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed final week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for making an attempt to “hush up” the difficulty for days.
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (…) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he instructed Azerbaijani state tv.
Aliyev mentioned that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fireplace from the bottom over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Aliyev accused Russia of making an attempt to “hush up” the difficulty for a number of days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by variations of occasions put ahead by Russian officers.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he mentioned.
The crash killed 38 of 67 folks on board. The Kremlin mentioned that air protection techniques had been firing close to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, the place the aircraft tried to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.
Aliyev mentioned Azerbaijan made three calls for to Russia in reference to the crash.
“First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he mentioned.
Aliyev famous that the primary demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin known as the crash a “tragic incident” although stopped wanting acknowledging Moscow’s duty.
He mentioned that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that “the final version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened.”
He famous that Azerbaijan was all the time “in favor of a group of international experts” investigating the crash, and had “categorically refused” Russia’s suggestion that the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation within the Commonwealth of Unbiased States, examine it.
“It is no secret that this organization consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully ensured here,” Aliyev mentioned.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov instructed Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the cellphone once more, however didn’t present particulars of the dialog.
The Kremlin additionally mentioned a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway on the crash website close to town of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The aircraft was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned towards Kazakhstan, a whole bunch of kilometers (miles) throughout the Caspian Sea from its supposed vacation spot, and crashed whereas attempting to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash instructed Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the plane because it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, mentioned Friday that because the aircraft was making ready to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones had been focusing on town, prompting authorities to shut the realm to air visitors.
The crash is the second lethal civil aviation accident linked to combating in Ukraine. Malaysia Airways Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 folks aboard, because it flew over the realm in jap Ukraine managed by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied duty, however a Dutch court docket in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for his or her position in downing the aircraft with an air protection system introduced into Ukraine from a Russian navy base.
Related Press author Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.
