He also says that Russia is trying to cover up the causes of the plane crash.
We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. We're not saying it was done intentionally, but it was, said President Ilham Aliyev to the state media.
The fact is that the civilian Azerbaijani plane was damaged from the outside, over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and nearly lost control. We also know that electronic warfare systems caused our plane to lose control, he added.
At the same time, the plane's tail section was also severely damaged as a result of ground fire.
Nearly 40 died
It was on Christmas Day that a plane from the Azerbaijani airline Azerbaijan Airlines crashed in western Kazakhstan. According to sources within the Azerbaijani government and the USA, a Russian air defense missile may have been behind the plane crash, since it suffered significant external damage when it tried to land in Grozny.
Nearly 40 people died in the plane crash.
Aliyev also regrets that Russia has "presented theories" that "clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to hide" the incident.
To acknowledge guilt, apologize in time to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and inform the public about this – all these were measures and steps that should have been taken.
The President also makes three demands, of which the first, to apologize to Azerbaijan, has been fulfilled, according to Aliyev.
For the second, one must acknowledge one's guilt. For the third, one must punish the guilty, bring them to justice and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers, and the crew members, he said.
Apologized
On Saturday, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had apologized to Aliyev for the "tragic event" that occurred over Russian territory, but without Russia taking responsibility for the incident.
At the time when the plane was trying to land, the Russian air defense was activated, since several locations – including Grozny – were attacked by Ukrainian drones, according to the Kremlin.
According to aviation expert Jan Ohlsson, there is no doubt that the plane was shot at:
The holes in the fuselage are bent inward, so the metal is bent inward, which means the impact came from the outside. There is no woodpecker in the whole world that could peck such holes, said Jan Ohlsson to TT on Thursday.
