Moscow has pledged to hold accountable those responsible for the tragic crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 aircraft, which occurred on December 25 near Aktau, Kazakhstan. The incident claimed 38 lives out of the 67 passengers on board.
Azerbaijan alleges that the plane was mistakenly targeted by Russian air defense systems as it attempted to land at Grozny airport in southern Russia.
While Russia has not explicitly confirmed this claim, President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a recent phone conversation. Putin acknowledged that air defense systems were active in the area at the time but refrained from confirming any direct involvement.
In a statement on Monday, Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor disclosed that the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee assured them of ongoing efforts to identify those responsible. “Intensive measures are being carried out to identify the guilty people and bring them to criminal responsibility,” the statement read.
Despite this, tensions between the two nations have escalated. President Aliyev has openly criticized Moscow, demanding that it take responsibility for what he termed an “accidental” but avoidable incident. He also accused Russia of attempting to obscure the truth by offering alternative explanations.
According to Russian authorities, Grozny was under attack by Ukrainian drones when the Azerbaijani plane approached in poor visibility conditions. Survivors of the crash recalled hearing explosions near the aircraft, which diverted across the Caspian Sea before making a crash landing in Aktau.
