Plane crash in Kazakhstan. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: we demand a “human approach” from Russia

– It is obvious that the plane was damaged by open fire from land. It is clear as day that electronic warfare has made the aircraft impossible to control. But why was the plane diverted to Aktau? We don't have any information on this yet, he said Ilham Aliyevquoted by the Russian independent website Meduza.

According to Aliyev, the operation to close the airspace was announced in Grozny after the plane was shot at from the ground. He assured that the crew members kept their cool and the pilots did everything to save people.

The president announced that in Brazilwhere the plane was manufactured, the process of opening the black boxes of the machine began. He noted that Baku was opposed to this solution because, according to Azerbaijan it may not be objective.

– Attempts by Russian state structures to cover up this event and stick to absurd versions arouse surprise, regret and indignation – Aliyev continued.

– The blame for the death of Azerbaijani citizens in this disaster rests with the representatives Russia. We demand justice, punishment of the guilty, full transparency and a human approach, Aliyev said at a meeting with the surviving crew members and relatives of the victims.

In the crash that occurred at the airport in the city of Aktau Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, 38 people died. Most of the 67 passengers on the Embraer 190 were Azerbaijani citizens.

The machine was flying from Baku to Grozny. As it approached its target, a Ukrainian drone attack on Grozny was underway. The captain directed the plane to Aktau on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. While approaching for landing, the plane broke apart and burst into flames.

According to unofficial reports, the machine was mistakenly shot down by Russian anti-aircraft defense.

Aliyev had previously accused Moscow of trying to hide responsibility for the disaster and demanded a public apology and compensation from it. Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for the “tragic incident” involving the Azerbaijani plane and admitted that on the day of the crash, Russian air defense repelled Ukrainian drone attacks in the Russian Caucasus. However, he did not confirm that one of the Russian missiles hit the plane.

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A week ago, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan announced that the Russian authorities have undertaken to identify and punish those who contributed to the disaster.