Azerbaijan’s president says Russia unintentionally shot down jetliner that crashed in Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan’s president said on Sunday that the passenger plane crashed last week, killing 38 peoplewas accidentally shot down by the Russian military. He also accused Russia of trying to “cover up” the issue for days.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told state television on Sunday that Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was “accidentally shot down.”
“We can say with complete clarity that this plane was shot down by Russia. (…) We are not saying it was intentional, but it was done that way,” he said.
Meiramgul Kussainova/Anadolu Photo: Getty Images
He added that the plane encountered some electrical interference and was shot at as it approached the southern Russian city of Grozny.
Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “cover up” the issue for days and said he was “frustrated and surprised” by it Russian officials’ version of events.
“Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard only ridiculous claims from Russia,” Aliyev said, citing Russian statements blaming the crash on birds or some kind of gas cylinder explosion.
“We witnessed a clear attempt to cover this up,” the Azerbaijani leader, who has close ties to Russia, said.
Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP
The Azerbaijani plane was flying from the capital Baju to Grozny when it suddenly veered off course on Wednesday. The plane crashed while trying to fly to another airport in Aktau, western Kazakhstan.
Cellphone video appeared to show the plane descending sharply before hitting the ground and exploding into a fireball about two miles from Aktau Airport.
The airline said there were 67 people on board, 62 passengers and five crew members, of whom 38 died in the accident. There were 29 survivors.
Aliyev’s remarks came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Apologize to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Wednesday’s “tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”
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The Kremlin said air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, as the plane tried to land there to deflect a Ukrainian drone attack.
A Kremlin statement stopped short of saying Russia shot down the plane, noting only that it had launched a criminal investigation into the incident.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia regarding the crash.
He said: “First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, pursue criminal responsibility, and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, injured passengers and crew.”
On Friday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that U.S. officials “have seen some early indications that certainly indicate the possibility that the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system.”
He confirmed that the United States had intelligence or information indicating that possibility, but said investigations were currently underway in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and that the United States would “respect the process.”
Passengers and crew members who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises from the plane as it circled over Grozny.
