Azerbaijan鈥檚 President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and for trying to 鈥渉ush up鈥� the issue for days.
"We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,鈥� he told Azerbaijani state television.
Aliyev said that the airliner, which was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and 鈥渞endered uncontrollable by electronic warfare." Aliyev accused Russia of trying to 鈥渉ush up鈥� the issue for several days, saying he was 鈥渦pset and surprised鈥� by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.
鈥淯nfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,鈥� he said.
The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.
鈥淔irst, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,鈥� he said.
Aliyev noted that the first demand was 鈥渁lready fulfilled鈥� when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a 鈥渢ragic incident" though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow鈥檚 responsibility.
He said that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that 鈥渢he final version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened.鈥�
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but did not provide details of the conversation.
The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan鈥檚 capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia鈥檚 civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
The crash is the linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied responsibility, but a convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defense system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.
___
Associated Press writer Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.
The Associated Press
