The president of Azerbaijan said on Sunday that the passenger plane which crashed last week, killing 38 peoplewas unintentionally shot down by the Russian army. He also accused Russia of trying to “silence” the issue for several days.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told state television on Sunday that Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was “shot down by accident.”
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. … We are not saying it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he said.
Meiramgul Kussainova/Anadolu via Getty Images
He said the plane suffered some sort of electrical jamming and was fired upon as it approached the southern Russian city of Grozny.
Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “silence” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.
“Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard only absurd versions from Russia,” Aliyev said, citing statements made in Russia attributing the accident to birds or the explosion of a sort of gas bottle.
“We have witnessed clear attempts to cover up the matter,” said the Azerbaijani leader, who has close ties to Russia.
Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin swimming pool photo via AP
The Azerbaijani plane was flying from the capital Baju to Grozny on Wednesday when it veered off course. It crashed while trying to reach another airport in Aktau in western Kazakhstan.
Cellphone footage appears to show the plane making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball about three kilometers from Aktau airport.
The airline said there were 67 people on board – 62 passengers and five crew members – and that 38 people died in the crash. There were 29 survivors.
Aliyev’s remarks come a day after those of Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for that of Wednesday “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace”.
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The Kremlin said air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of Russia’s Chechen republic, where the plane attempted to land, to ward off a Ukrainian drone strike.
A Kremlin statement did not specify that Russia had shot down the plane, saying only that it had launched a criminal investigation into the incident.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan had sent three requests to Russia in connection with the crash.
“First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, passengers and members crew injured,” he said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that U.S. officials “saw early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this aircraft was shot down by air defense systems Russians.
He confirmed that the United States had intelligence or information suggesting that possibility, but said that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were currently leading the investigation and that the United States would “respect that process.”
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises in the plane as it flew over Grozny.
