Azerbaijani Foreign Minister reported "serious questions" to Moscow over closure of AZAL liner crash case
The cessation of the criminal case by the Russian Investigative Committee regarding the AZAL plane crash raises serious questions for Azerbaijan. As reported by Report, this was stated by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, answering journalists' questions at a year-end briefing.
According to the minister, the Russian Investigative Committee sent a letter to Azerbaijan with the results of the plane crash investigation, the content of which caused surprise:
— The letter indicated that the criminal case had already been closed. Undoubtedly, such a step raises very serious questions for us, — Bayramov noted, adding that an official response from the relevant Azerbaijani authorities was sent to this letter.
Bayramov emphasized: Azerbaijan expects Russia to fulfill its obligations in connection with this incident.
— Yesterday was the anniversary of the tragedy, I express my condolences to the families of the victims. The fact that the plane was hit was later recognized by the Russian side, and compensation payments were also announced. This was an important statement. We expect this process to be completed, — the minister stressed.
On December 25, 2024, an Embraer 190 aircraft of "Azerbaijan Airlines" (AZAL), performing flight Baku — Grozny, crashed 3 km from Aktau in Kazakhstan. There were 67 people on board the aircraft. As a result of the catastrophe, 38 people died.
According to preliminary investigation data, when approaching Grozny, the aircraft was attacked by a Russian "Pantsir-S" air defense system. In addition, due to the use of electronic warfare by the Russian side, the communication system of the Azerbaijani aircraft was completely paralyzed. For this reason, the aircraft disappeared from radars in Russian airspace.
At a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe on October 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the Russian air defense system had activated and two missiles launched had exploded, hitting the Azerbaijani aircraft. Putin promised that the Russian side would pay all due compensations and provide a legal assessment of the actions of all officials.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not participate in the informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg on December 22, although he usually attended it. The administration of the Azerbaijani president reported that he would not participate in the summit "due to a busy work schedule."
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