‘Lack of humanity’: Why Azerbaijan is angry with Russia over plane crash
Al Jazeera
Russia’s failure to let the plane land and its refusal to take responsibility for the crash are upsetting a key partner.
With Azerbaijan in mourning this week over the Christmas Day plane crash that claimed 38 lives, political scientist Farhad Mammadov’s mind raced back to November 2020.
Then, on the last day of the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan shot down a Russian helicopter near its border, while it was in Armenian airspace.
“Immediately, the president of Azerbaijan called the president of Russia, took the blame for himself, for the country, brought an apology, and then there was the punishment of the guilty and the payment of compensation,” said Mammadov, who is the director of the Baku-based Center for Studies of the South Caucasus.
Four years later, the roles have reversed — almost.
On December 25, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 took off from Baku bound for Grozny in Chechnya, with 67 passengers and crew onboard. As the plane neared Grozny in Russian airspace, it appeared to have come under fire from the ground and changed course east, crashing near Aktau in western Kazakhstan. Only 29 people survived.
