Azerbaijan demands Russia admit it shot down passenger plane

BAKU: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday demanded that Russia admit that it fired at an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet before it crashed, accusing Moscow of initially trying to cover up the cause of the fatal disaster.

Aliyev accused in an interview to state media at Baku airport four days after the AZAL Embraer 190 plane crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. Azerbaijani officials have suggested that a Russian air-defence system hit the aircraft as it tried to land in Grozny, the capital of the Russian Republic of Chechnya.

On Sunday, the Kazakhstan transport ministry said that the aeroplane’s black box would be sent for analysis to Brazil, which manufactures the Embraer plane. Aliyev’s unusually forthright accusation of his country’s traditional ally came a day after he spoke by telephone to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A Kremlin statement about the phone call did not indicate that Putin had claimed responsibility for the crash.

“The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged from the outside over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control,” Aliyev told state television. “We also know that electronic warfare systems put our plane out of control... At the same time, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail of the plane was also severely damaged,” he said.

Aliyev said that while “our plane was hit by accident”, Baku was angry that Moscow had tried to hide the cause of the crash and demanded its ally admit responsibility. He said it was “regrettable and surprising” that Moscow “put forward theories” that, he said, “clearly showed the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue”. “For the first three days, we heard nothing from Russia except some absurd theories,” he said, adding that these included the plane hitting a flock of birds. He called the theory “completely removed” from reality, pointing out that the plane’s “fuselage is riddled with holes”.

Russia has said that Grozny was being attacked by Ukrainian drones the day that the AZAL flight tried to land.

Aliyev urged Moscow to publicly apologise to his country, saying Baku had made official “demands” to Russia two days ago. “First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. “Second, it must acknowledge its guilt.

“Third, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility, and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state, as well as to the injured passengers and crew members. “These are our conditions,” Aliyev said, in unusually strong language directed at Moscow.

The Kremlin on Saturday said that during their phone conversation, Putin had apologised to Azerbaijan over the “tragic incident”.

Putin said Russian air defence was operating in Grozny on December 25 when the plane tried to land, before diverting and crashing in western Kazakhstan. The Kremlin statement did not indicate that Putin had said Russia was at fault. Later on Saturday, the Russian leader called for a “transparent” probe into the crash.

Russian news agencies reported that Putin and Aliyev discussed the crash again on Sunday.

The United States this week said that it had “early indications” that Russia was responsible for the crash but did not provide details.