Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev mentioned on Sunday that the Azerbaijan Airways airplane that crashed this week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for attempting to “hush up” the difficulty for days.
“We will say with full readability that the airplane was shot down by Russia…. We aren’t saying that it was achieved deliberately, but it surely was achieved,” he advised Azerbaijani state tv.
Aliyev mentioned that the airliner, which crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fireplace from the bottom over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by digital warfare.” He accused Russia of attempting to “hush up” the difficulty for a number of days, saying he was “upset and shocked” by variations of occasions put ahead by Russian officers.
“Sadly, for the primary three days we heard nothing from Russia besides delirious variations,” Aliyev mentioned.
The crash killed 38 of 67 individuals on board. The Kremlin mentioned that air defence techniques had been firing close to Grozny — the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, the place the airplane 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 aspect should apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it should admit its guilt. Third, punish the responsible, carry them to legal accountability 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 referred to as the crash a “tragic incident” however stopped wanting acknowledging Moscow’s accountability.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov advised Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the telephone once more, however he didn’t present particulars of the dialog.
The Kremlin additionally mentioned a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan has begun on the crash web site close to town of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The airplane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny in southern Russia when it turned towards Kazakhstan, a whole lot of kilometres throughout the Caspian Sea from its supposed vacation spot, and crashed whereas attempting to land.
As extra proof factors to the likelihood a missile introduced down an Azerbaijan Airways flight, among the survivors are talking out concerning the moments earlier than the airplane crashed in Kazakhstan.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash advised 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 on Friday that because the airplane was getting ready to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones had been concentrating 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 individuals aboard, because it flew over the realm in japanese Ukraine managed by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied accountability, however a Dutch court docket in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for his or her position in downing the airplane with an air defence system introduced into Ukraine from a Russian army base.
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