Azerbaijan stated that Moscow had assured that those responsible for the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan would be punished. The AZAL Embraer 190 jet crash-landed on Dec. 25, resulting in the death of 38 out of the 67 people on board. This incident led to various airlines canceling flights to Russia, including El Al from Israel, which announced the suspension of flights to Moscow until the end of March. President Ilham Aliyev demanded that Russia accept responsibility for mistakenly firing on the plane as it attempted a scheduled landing at Grozny airport in southern Russia. Despite not confirming that one of its air defense missiles hit the plane, President Vladimir Putin expressed regret to Aliyev and mentioned that the systems were active at the time of the incident.
Russia initiated a criminal inquiry into the incident but has not confirmed whether the plane was hit by one of its air defense missiles or made any comments on finding and prosecuting the perpetrators. Aliyev publicly condemned Moscow – a significant partner of Baku – and accused Russia of trying to conceal the true cause of the crash, emphasizing that the plane was “hit by accident.” He demanded that Putin acknowledge responsibility for the incident and criticized Russia for proposing alternative theories to cover up the issue. According to Russia, Ukrainian drones were attacking Grozny when the AZAL airliner attempted to land in thick fog, leading survivors to hear explosions outside the plane as it diverted towards the Kazakh city of Aktau where it crash-landed. Kazakhstan announced that the plane’s black boxes were sent to Brazil, where Embraer is headquartered, for analysis by the Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center of the Brazilian air force.
The conflict arose after Azerbaijan claimed that a plane was shot at by Russian air defenses in Kazakhstan, resulting in casualties and prompting various airlines to cancel flights to Russia. Azerbaijan demanded that Moscow accept responsibility for hitting the plane, which led to a rare condemnation of Moscow from President Aliyev, who accused Russia of hiding the true cause of the crash. Despite opening a criminal inquiry, Russia has not confirmed that one of its air defense missiles hit the plane or taken steps to bring the responsible parties to justice. President Putin expressed remorse for the incident and stated that the air defense systems were active at the time of the crash. The incident has strained the relationship between the two countries, with Azerbaijan pushing for accountability and transparency from Russia.
The AZAL Embraer 190 jet crash-landed in Kazakhstan on Dec. 25, causing the death of a significant number of passengers on board and prompting airlines like Israel’s El Al to suspend flights to Moscow. President Aliyev demanded that Putin accept responsibility for the incident, claiming that the plane was mistakenly targeted by Russian air defenses while attempting a scheduled landing. Russia has not confirmed that one of its missiles hit the plane, but President Putin expressed regret over the incident in a phone call to Aliyev. Survivors of the crash described hearing explosions outside the plane before it diverted to Kazakhstan, where it crash-landed. Kazakhstan sent the plane’s black boxes to Brazil for analysis, highlighting the international cooperation in investigating the crash.
The incident involving the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan has stirred tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia, with Baku demanding accountability and transparency from Moscow. President Aliyev criticized Russia for allegedly trying to conceal the true cause of the crash, expressing anger over the incident being labeled as an accident. While Russia has opened a criminal inquiry into the matter, it has not confirmed whether its air defense systems were responsible for hitting the plane or made any statements about bringing the perpetrators to justice. The crash has led to the suspension of flights to Russia by various airlines and has raised concerns about air safety and international relations in the region. The black boxes of the crashed plane were sent to Brazil for analysis, indicating a global effort to investigate the incident and determine the cause of the crash.
