ReutersAzerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called on Russia to take responsibility for a plane crash on Christmas Day that killed 38 people.
It is believed that the plane came under fire from Russian air defense systems while trying to land in Chechnya before being diverted to Kazakhstan, where it crashed.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the Azerbaijani president for shooting down the plane in Russian airspace, but he stopped short of taking responsibility.
Aliyev accused Moscow of initially “covering up” its involvement in the incident. While accepting Putin's apology, he said Russia “must admit its guilt” and pay reparations.
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane was en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to the Chechen capital Grozny on December 25 when it is believed to have come under fire.
Flight J2-8243 was forced to change course from Chechnya and crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 on board.
Most of the passengers on the plane were from Azerbaijan, others from Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Aviation experts and others believe the plane's GPS system was affected by electronic jamming and then damaged by shrapnel from Russian air defense missiles.
But Aliyev said that in the days following the incident, “Russian agencies provided versions (of events) about the explosion of some gas cylinders” which “clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue,” according to the text. From an interview with government media.
He also said that some in Russia clung to the theory that the plane had hit birds. Aliyev described the two theories as “foolish and dishonest.”
The Azerbaijani president admitted that the plane was shot down by mistake, but said that in the first three days after the accident, “we only heard ridiculous stories from Russia.”
He added that Baku presented a series of demands to Moscow regarding the incident on Friday, and only one of them has been met so far: an apology.
Putin said on Saturday that the “tragic incident” occurred when Russian air defense systems intercepted Ukrainian drones, and expressed his “deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims.”
The Russian President admitted that the plane repeatedly tried to land at Grozny Airport in Chechnya.
But Putin said that at that time the cities of Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were “under attack by Ukrainian drones, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia should “stop spreading disinformation” and that the damage to the fuselage was “strongly reminiscent of an air defense missile strike.”
The Kremlin's reading did not include a direct admission that the plane was bombed by Russian missiles.
Aliyev said that Baku demanded that Russia “admit its guilt, punish those at fault, and pay compensation to Azerbaijan and the injured survivors of the accident.”
Azerbaijan and Russia are allies. The Azerbaijani said: “No one would have thought that in a country that is our friend, our plane would be shot at from the ground.”
His statements came as Azerbaijan praised the pilots and passengers of the downed plane.
Three crew members – Captain Igor Kshenyakin, co-pilot Aleksandr Kalyaninov, and flight attendant Hakma Aliyeva – were honored for landing the plane in a way that allowed 29 people to survive, even though it led to their death.
