From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Azerbaijan says Russia shot down plane, tried to hush up mistake
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, criticizing Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia,” he tells Azerbaijani state television. “We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done.”
Aliyev says the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” He accuses Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.
The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Aliyev says Azerbaijan has demanded Russia apologize, admit guilt, bring those responsible to justice and pay compensation to the Azeri state and those injured.
Aliyev notes that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident” though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells Russian state media that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but does not provide details of the conversation.
The Kremlin also says a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is underway at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The Times of Israel Community.