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 defense.
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 Azerbaijan’s national broadcaster that a vague apology issued by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a day earlier would not suffice to preserve friendly relations between the two former Soviet states.
The Embraer 190 passenger plane was traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, southern Russia, on Wednesday, but veered off course after encountering interference with its navigation systems and impact with external objects, according to Azerbaijan’s government. . The plane crashed shortly after in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the other 67 people on board, most of whom were 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. However, Moscow has not declared its responsibility.
Aliyev’s comments on Sunday are the most direct rebuke yet of the Kremlin’s position on the accident.
“Obviously today we can say that the plane was shot down through Russia,” Aliyev said in the interview, according to a summary published in English through Azerbaijan’s official news agency. “First of all, the Russian side will have to apologize to Azerbaijan. Secondly, you will have to admit your guilt. Thirdly, the guilty must be punished.
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