Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Vladimir Putin and his administration of trying to cover up the doomed Azerbaijan Airlines flight that was shot down by Russia on Christmas Day.
"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," Aliyev said on a state televised broadcast about the jet plane crash in Kazakhstan.
According to Aliyev, he heard "nothing from Russia except delirious versions," after the crash killed 38 people, leaving 32 survivors, reported NPR.
While Putin gave Aliyev a non-apology where he offered condolences for the "tragic incident," he has not taken responsibility for the plane's fate nor has he attributed it to his administration.
As a result, Aliyev gave Russia three demands, citing that the first demand was met when Putin called him to give his condolences to the victims.
"First, 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," Aliyev said.
Survivors told the Azerbaijani press that they heard loud noises on the plane as it circled over Grozny.
Their statements confirmed the words of Dmitry Yadrov, the director of Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, who said as the plane was preparing to ground, Ukrainian drones began targeting the city.
The drone activity caused authorities to close the area to air traffic.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight along with crashes that occurred in South Korea, Canada and Norway involved Boeing 737-800 planes.
An investigation led by officials from Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan is currently underway, reported NPR.
Originally published by Latin Times
