Azerbaijan's president accuses Russia of covering up plane crash

Azerbaijan's president accuses Russia of covering up plane crash

The President Azerbaijans, Ilham Aliyev, accused Russia of accidentally shoting a passenger plane on Christmas Day, which for a accident with 38 dead . Aliyev also expressed that Russia wanted to cover up the actual reasons.

Details on the plane crash

The Azerbaijan Airlines machine was on the way to Grosny in Chechnya before she had to put an emergency landing near Aktau, as the airline announced on Wednesday. First of all, the Russian aviation authority stated that the aircraft had been after a collision with birds However, they changed their statement and explained that Ukrainian fight drones and poet fog had pushed the aircraft out of Russian airspace.

evidence of military intervention?

The numerous perforations in the aircraft fuselage, which are reminiscent of damage caused by Schrapnelle or debris, suggested that the machine were shot down by Russian air defense units. A US official who spoke to CNN expressed that the references to a Russian defense systems indicate. "The fact that the fuselage is littered with holes suggests that the theory of a bird strike ... is completely removed from the agenda," said Aliyev in accordance with the reports of the state Azerbaijani news agency Azertac.

statements by Aliyev and Russian authorities

Aliyev said that the plane was damaged over Russian territory. He added: "The electronic warfare systems have brought our aircraft out of control," continued Azertac. "At the same time, the rear area of ​​the aircraft was significantly damaged by a fire fire from the ground," said Aliyev.

A Russian air traffic controller reported shortly before the crash that an oxygen tank in the aircraft's cabin had exploded, Kazakhstan's transport minister Marat Karabayev said on Thursday. Aliyev described this as "another unfortunate and surprising event", which "clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to cover up the matter, which of course not made itself."

reactions from Putin and the Russian side

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized in a phone call to Aliyev for the tragic event that took place in Russian airspace, and added that the Russian air defense was active at this point in time without admitting a guilt.

Russian state media reported that Putin and Aliyev were on the phone again on Sunday without giving any further details about their conversation. Aliyev said that Russia should take responsibility instead of absurd theories about the incident and apologize completely. "Of course our plane was accidentally hit ... there can be no question of a deliberate act of terrorist," he emphasized according to Azertac.

claim for responsibility and apology

"That is why Russia would have admitted to his fault in Azerbaijan, a friend of a friend, and have to inform the public about it - all of these are measures that should be taken," added Aliyev. "Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard nothing but a few absurd theories in the first three days."