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Ilham Aliyev accuses Russia of shooting down the Azerbaijan Airlines plane and trying to cover up the cause of the crash.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called on Russia to “admit its guilt” for the accidental downing of an Azerbaijani airliner, an incident that killed 38 people and injured 29.
Flight 8432 of Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday while en route to Grozny, the capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia.
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia,” Aliyev told Azerbaijani state television on Sunday. “We're not saying it was done on purpose, but it was done.
He explained that the plane was struck by ground fire over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare”, forcing it to veer off course before attempting an emergency landing and crashing. The Kremlin initially said the crash occurred after the Embraer 190 struck a flock of birds, but mounting evidence suggests the cause was an anti-aircraft missile.
Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by the conflicting accounts presented by Russian officials. “Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delusional versions,” he said.
Last week, a Kazakh aviation safety expert told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity that “no bird could cause such damage”. “It is absurd and criminal to claim such a thing,” the expert said.
Amid the backlash, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to Aliyev about the “tragic incident” in Russian airspace, saying Russian air defenses engaged Ukrainian attack drones.
A Kremlin statement did not say that Russia had shot down the plane, only that a criminal case had been opened.
Aliyev called on Moscow to issue a public apology to his country, saying Baku had made formal “requests” to Russia two days ago.
“First, the Russian side should apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, he must plead guilty. Third, those responsible should be punished, brought to justice and compensation should be paid to the Azerbaijani state, as well as to the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions,” he said, adding that the first request had already been addressed with Putin's apology.
Putin and Aliyev spoke by phone again on Sunday, the Kremlin said, without giving details. The The Kremlin has already announced a joint investigation into the crash with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
