Plane crash in Kazakhstan
Plane crash in Kazakhstan
Plane Crash in Kazakhstan
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The Azerbaijani leader criticized the Russian reaction to the crash of a passenger plane that, according to the Azerbaijani government, probably penetrated Russian air defenses.
By Anatoly Kurmanaev
Reporting from Berlin
Azerbaijan’s leader on Sunday blamed Russia for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane last week, calling on Moscow to do its duty and offer compensation to the victims.
President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Azerbaijani national television that the vague apologies made the day before by Russian President Vladimir V. Putin would not be enough to maintain friendly relations between the two former Soviet states.
The Embraer 190 airliner was traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny in southern Russia on Wednesday, but was diverted from its path after encountering interference with its navigation systems and impact with external objects, according to Azerbaijan’s government. The plane crashed in Kazakhstan soon after, resulting in the deaths of 38 of the 67 people on board, more than half of them Azerbaijani citizens.
Azerbaijani and American officials, as well as foreign aviation experts, said they believed the plane was likely shot down by a Russian air defense missile. Moscow, however, has not declared its responsibility.
Aliyev’s comments on Sunday are the most direct rebuke yet of the Kremlin’s position on the accident.
“Today we can clearly state that the plane was shot down over Russia,” Aliyev said in the interview, according to a summary published in English by Azerbaijan’s official news agency. “Firstly, the Russian side will have to apologize to Azerbaijan. Secondly, the Russian side will have to apologize to Azerbaijan, it will have to admit its guilt. Thirdly, the guilty will have to be punished.
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