Azerbaijan expects Russia to officially recognise downing of passenger plane - Reuters
The Azerbaijani government is awaiting official recognition from Russia that its "Pantsir-S1" air defence system shot down the Azerbaijan Airlines Baku-Grozny flight that crashed in Kazakhstan.
This was reported to Reuters by sources familiar with the preliminary investigation, Censor.NET informs.
According to one of the interlocutors, no one claims that this happened on purpose.
"However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft," he said
It is noted that the plane was flying from Baku to Grozny, but changed course, crossed the Caspian Sea and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The interlocutors noted that preliminary data indicate that the plane was hit by debris from a missile fired by the Russian air defence system, and its communication systems were paralysed by electronic interference as it approached Grozny.
One of the American interlocutors told reporters that there are early indications that the plane may have been shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft system.
Thus, the United States and Canada called on Russia to conduct a transparent investigation into the incident. A statement by the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads: "We urge Russia to allow an open and transparent investigation and to accept its findings."
The Kremlin has not yet commented on the circumstances of the tragedy. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "it is wrong to draw conclusions before the official investigation is completed".
The agency adds that the wreckage of the aircraft showed damage similar to shrapnel, which confirms the assumption that an anti-aircraft system was used. It also recorded strong GPS interference during the flight over southwestern Russia.
The investigation is ongoing and official results are expected in the near future.
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan
On 25 December, an Embraer plane en route from Baku to Grozny, Russia, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
38 people died as a result of the downing of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane. According to one version in the media, the plane could have been hit by air defence systems over the territory of the Russian Federation.
According to media reports, a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau.
