Reuters on December 29 quoted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev as saying that the passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, was shot from the ground in Russia.
The leader said he regretted that “some groups” in Russia tried to hide the truth about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash by spreading false information about the cause of the crash. .
“Our plane was shot down by accident,” Mr. Aliyev said, adding that the plane was electronically jammed and then shot at while approaching the city of Grozny, southern Russia. .
“Unfortunately, in the first three days we only heard absurd versions from Russia,” the leader said, referring to some claims that the accident was caused by birds or by the explosion of some type of tank. some gas.
Russia did not immediately comment on the above statement.
Previously, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane from the capital Baku of Azerbaijan to the city of Grozny in Russia on December 25, but did not land but instead diverted to Kazakhstan and crashed near the city of Aktau, killing 38 people on board. , 29 people survived.
Mobile phone videos circulating online showed the plane plunging before crashing to the ground and exploding. Other footage showed part of the plane’s fuselage ripped off its wing and the rest of the plane lying on its back in the grass.
On December 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Mr. Aliyev to say that Russian air defense forces were activated when the plane tried to land in Grozny (capital of the Chechen Republic) before changing direction and falling in Kazakhstan.
TASS quoted a statement from the Kremlin press office saying that President Vladimir Putin apologized for the plane having encountered an incident while in Russian airspace, and once again sent his sincerest and deepest condolences to the families. families of the victims of the plane crash, and wish the injured a speedy recovery.