It is becoming increasingly clear that the AZAL plane that crashed on Christmas Day (25 December) was hit by a Russian missile fired from Grozny. Russian President Vladimir Putin took the unusual step of apologising on Friday (27th December) but stopped short of admitting responsibility . -
Commenting on the crash during an interview with Azerbaijan Television President Aliyev dismissed earlier Russian claims that the plane was struck by birds. The fact that the crashed plane was full of holes completely eliminates the bird strike theory, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said .
"Unfortunately, some circles in Russia preferred to put forward this theory. Another sad and surprising moment for us was that official Russian agencies put forward theories about the explosion of a gas cylinder on the plane. That is, this clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to cover up this issue, which, of course, no one deserves. Of course, our plane was hit by accident. Of course, we cannot talk about a deliberate terrorist act here. Therefore, acknowledging the crime, a timely apology to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this - all these were measures and steps that should have been taken. Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except absurd theories," Aliyev said.
According to Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan presented clear demands to the Russian side.
"These demands were officially communicated to them on December 27. What do they consist of? First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, those responsible must be punished, held criminally liable, and the Azerbaijani state, as well as the injured passengers and crew members, must be compensated. These are our conditions. The first of them was fulfilled yesterday. I hope they will accept other conditions as well. All these demands are fair. There are no extraordinary demands and issues here; all this is based on international experience and normal human behavior," Aliyev noted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin phoned Ilham Aliyev again after the interview was aired.
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
