After plane crash in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan president accuses Russia and demands confession

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev said on Sunday December 29 that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane which crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday had suffered “shots” from Russian territory, accusing Moscow of having wanted to hide the causes of this tragedy. Since Wednesday, the day of the crash of this plane which failed to land in Grozny, in the south of Russia, suspicions have been growing around a Russian anti-aircraft defense shot.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a Kremlin statement, apologized to Mr. Aliev on Saturday, acknowledged the shooting but without admitting that the plane had been hit. He also claimed that the area was then under attack from Ukrainian drones.

According to Mr. Aliev, this Embraer 190 aircraft of the Azerbaijani national airline left Baku on Wednesday “was damaged from the outside over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny”the capital of Chechnya, its destination. Near Grozny, the plane “almost lost control” because of the systems “military electronic jamming” which were in action, then the tail of the aircraft was seriously damaged by shots from Russian soil, Mr. Aliev continued in a television interview reported by the Azertac agency. He pointed to the “guilt” of Russia, while noting that the“plane was hit by accident”.

Excuses et compensations

The crash left 38 dead, and 29 people survived. Testimonies from the latter and images of the tail of the plane riddled with holes had supported the theory of a Russian anti-aircraft defense attack without Moscow commenting. Mr. Aliev, whose country maintains good relations with Russia, regretted that Russian authorities and media had put forward various versions, such as a flock of birds or the explosion of a gas balloon on board, to try to“cover up the affair”.

Russia must therefore apologize, admit its responsibility, punish the guilty and pay compensation to Azerbaijan and the victims of the crash, Mr. Aliev said. “The first was heard on Saturday [avec les excuses de M. Poutine]. I hope the other conditions will be accepted too”he insisted.

” Admit [sa] guilt, apologize in due time (…) and informing the public about it, these are all measures and steps that should have been taken”regretted Mr. Aliev. “Unfortunately, during the first three days we heard only absurd theories from Russia”he again accused.

According to Russia, Grozny was the target of a Ukrainian drone attack on the day of the crash and was enveloped in thick fog which prevented all visibility above an altitude of 500 meters. According to her, it was the captain, after having tried twice without success to land in Grozny, who chose, between several airport proposals, to go to Aktau in Kazakhstan, on the other side of the Caspian Sea, where the aircraft ultimately crashed.

“After reviewing the flight recorders and obtaining more detailed information, a full picture of what happened will be made public”promised President Ilham Aliev on Sunday. According to Russian news agencies, MM. Aliev and Putin spoke again on Sunday.