Azerbaijan’s president accuses Russia of shooting down a passenger plane in a Christmas Day crash and covering up the cause

CNN
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Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down a passenger plane on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people and covering up the cause.

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane was en route to Grozny in Chechnya before making an emergency landing near Aktau, the airline said on Wednesday.

Russia’s air traffic agency initially said the plane crashed after colliding with birds, but later said Ukrainian combat drones and thick fog forced the plane out of Russian airspace.

Perforations in the plane’s fuselage, reminiscent of damage from shrapnel or debris, led many to suspect that the plane was shot down by Russian air defense units, including a US official who told CNN that signs suggested a Russian system hit the plane have.

“The fact that the fuselage is riddled with holes suggests that the theory that the plane hit a flock of birds has been completely removed from the agenda,” Aliyev said on Sunday, according to Azerbaijani state media AZERTAC.

The Azerbaijani president said the plane was damaged over Russian territory, adding that “electronic warfare systems took our aircraft out of control,” AZERTAC reported.

“At the same time, the fire from the ground also severely damaged the tail of the aircraft,” Aliyev continued.

A Russian dispatcher said shortly before the crash that an oxygen tank had exploded in the plane’s cabin, Kazakhstan’s Transport Minister Marat Karabayev said Thursday.

Aliyev said this was “another regrettable and surprising moment” that “clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to hush up the issue, which, of course, is not unbecoming of anyone,” AZERTAC reported.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized in a phone call with Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace,” adding that Russian air defenses were active at the time but declined to admit guilt decided.

Russian state media TASS reported that Putin and Aliyev spoke by phone again on Sunday, but gave no further information about the conversation.

Aliyev said on Sunday that instead of theories about the cause of the crash, Russia should instead take the blame and apologize fully.

“Of course our plane was accidentally hit… there can be no question of an intentional act of terrorism,” he said, according to AZERTAC.

“Therefore, admitting guilt, apologizing in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about it – all of these were measures and steps that should have been taken,” he continued.

“Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except for some absurd theories,” Aliyev said.