Azerbaijani president demands compensation and admission of guilt from Russia over downed plane
On 27 December, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev demanded an apology and admission of guilt from Russia over the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane.
Source: Azerbaijani media outlet Caliber
Quote from Aliyev: "Firstly, Russia must apologise to Azerbaijan. Secondly, it must admit its guilt. Thirdly, the perpetrators must be punished and held criminally liable, and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state and the affected passengers and crew members. These are our conditions.
The first of these was fulfilled yesterday. I hope that our other conditions will be accepted. All these conditions are fair. There are no extraordinary demands or issues here: this is based on international experience and the principles of normal human conduct."
Background:
- During a telephone conversation with Aliyev yesterday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin apologised for the fact that the "tragic incident involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane occurred in Russian airspace", but did not admit Russia’s guilt.
- On 25 December, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer aircraft en route from Baku to Grozny crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on the Caspian Sea. 38 people were killed.
- Azerbaijan Airlines said the crash was caused by "external physical and technical interference".
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