The Azerbaijani authorities have handed over to the Russian side the demands on admitting guilt for the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane near Kazakhstan's Aktau, punishing those responsible for the incident and paying compensation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the state-run AzTV channel.
"We have clearly communicated our demands to the Russian side, they were handed over already on December 27. What were they? First, the Russian side should apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, to admit its guilt. Thirdly, to punish the guilty, to hold them criminally responsible and to pay compensation both to the state and to the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions. The first of them was fulfilled yesterday. I hope that the rest of our demands will also be met," Aliyev said.
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Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has called on Russia to accept blame for a plane crash on Christmas Day that killed 38 people.
ReplyDeleteThe plane is thought to have come under fire from Russian air defence systems as it tried to land in Chechnya before being diverted to Kazakhstan, where it crashed.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to the Azerbaijani president over the downing of the plane in Russian airspace - but stopped short of taking responsibility.
Aliyev accused Moscow of an initial "cover up" over its involvement in the crash. While accepting Putin's apology, he said Russia "must admit its guilt" and pay compensation.