Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made a chilling revelation on Sunday, accusing Russia of shooting down a passenger plane last week, resulting in the deaths of 38 out of the 67 people on board.
In an interview with state television, Aliyev claimed that the aircraft had come under fire from the ground in Russia, asserting that Russian officials had misled the public about the true cause of the tragedy.
“Our plane was shot down by accident,” he stated, explaining that it had been subjected to electronic jamming before it was targeted as it approached the southern Russian city of Grozny.
“Unfortunately, during the first three days, all we heard were absurd explanations from Russia,” he continued, referring to Russian claims that attributed the crash to bird strikes or the explosion of a gas cylinder.
“We witnessed clear attempts to obscure the facts,” he added, expressing a desire for Russia to acknowledge its culpability in the incident and to hold those responsible accountable.
Russia has firmly denied any involvement in the crash, cautioning against speculating on its guilt.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his apologies to Aliyev for the “tragic incident” that occurred within Russian airspace, but he refrained from admitting that Russia was responsible, only mentioning that a criminal investigation had been initiated.
Since the incident, Putin and Aliyev have engaged in several telephone conversations, as stated by the Kremlin.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 crashed on December 25, leaving 29 survivors, as confirmed by the airline. The aircraft had diverted across the Caspian Sea, changing its course from Chechnya to western Kazakhstan before plummeting near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
