Azerbaijan accuses Russia of trying to hide causes of plane crash; says the plane was shot from Russia

Azerbaijan's President accuses Russia of shooting down Azerbaijan Airlines jet, calls for Moscow to admit guilt in the disaster.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday (December 29, 202) said the Azerbaijan Airlines jet that crashed this week was shot at from Russia and called for Moscow to admit “guilt” in the disaster.

He said the jet which crashed this week, killing 38 of the 67 people onboard, was hit “by accident” by Russia.

On Saturday (December 28, 2024), Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised for the crash but stopped short of accepting that it might have been hit by Russian fire.

“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,” Mr. Aliyev said in televised comments, according to state news agency, Azertag.

“We also know that electronic warfare systems put our plane out of control,” he said, adding that “at the same time, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail of the plane was also severely damaged.”

He said Baku regretted that Moscow “put forward theories” that “clearly showed the Russian side wanted to cover” up the issue.

“Of course, our plane was hit by accident. Of course, there can be no talk of a deliberate act of terror here,” Mr. Aliyev said.