Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has directly accused Russia regarding the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan. He has claimed that the accident was not due to a technical fault in the plane but was the result of a Russian attack. President Aliyev said that Russia carried out this attack and then tried to hide it.
President Aliyev’s statement
As Azerbaijan’s state channel reported, President Aliyev said:
“Russia attacked the plane and then tried to hide the reasons for it. False stories were fabricated. If the attack was a mistake, Russia should have apologized to Azerbaijan and admitted its guilt. The people of Azerbaijan have the right to know how their plane went down.”
He also said that Russia tried to suppress the truth of this incident and this is against the values of friendship with Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reaction
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed grief over the incident and termed it a “tragic incident”.
- Putin apologized:
- The statement from the Kremlin said that Putin apologized to the President of Azerbaijan over the phone.
- However, Russia did not accept that the plane fell due to an attack by their missile defense system.
- Russian missile defense active:
- Putin acknowledged that at the time the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was trying to land in Russia, Russian missile defense was active due to Ukrainian drone attacks.
- He described it as the result of unexpected circumstances.
Azerbaijan’s response
Azerbaijan’s transport minister had already claimed on 25 December that the plane had no internal technical faults.
- The minister said:
“This plane crashed due to external attack.”
- Testimony of the surviving passengers:
- Passengers who survived the accident said that while passing over Grozny they heard three explosions.
details of plane crash
- Aircraft: Aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines.
- Route: Was going from Azerbaijan to Russia.
- Event:
- The plane was not allowed to land due to Ukrainian drone attacks in Russia.
- The plane changed route towards Kazakhstan, but crashed on the way.
- Deaths in the accident: 38 people died.
Dissatisfaction and diplomatic dispute
This incident has become a cause of tension in relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.
- Azerbaijan’s stance:
- President Aliyev accused Russia of failure to accept its responsibility.
- Defense of Russia:
- Russia is calling it an accident, but is clearly avoiding taking responsibility for the attack.
