In an interview with the state television channel AzTV, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which was flying from Baku to Grozny and crashed near the city of Aktau, was damaged as a result of shelling from the ground.
"Of course, the final version will be known after the black boxes are opened. But the initial versions are also well-founded and based on facts. And the facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian aircraft was damaged from outside on Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and practically lost control. We also know that our aircraft was rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare. This is the first damage inflicted on the aircraft. In addition, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail section of the aircraft was also severely damaged," the head of state noted.
In addition, Aliyev noted that there were attempts on the part of Russia to conceal the facts related to what happened.
"We were upset and surprised by the fact that official Russian structures put forward versions related to the alleged explosion of a gas cylinder. This clearly indicated that the Russian side was trying to hush up the issue, which, of course, does no one credit. Unfortunately, during the first three days we heard only ridiculous versions from Russia," Aliyev shared.
He also stressed that Baku expects Moscow to admit guilt, hold those responsible accountable and pay compensation.
At the same time, the President of Azerbaijan noted that the shelling of the plane was not intentional.
Earlier we reported that a passenger plane crashed near Aktau.
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Cover: Photo – President.az