Azerbaijan demanded an apology from Russia for the downed Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane (which crashed in Kazakhstan), but the Kremlin refused to give one, Meduza reported.
The Kremlin is aware of Baku's statements that Russia should apologize for the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau, but "it has no right to make assessments" until the investigation into the causes of the crash is completed. This was stated at a briefing by Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
„I repeat, I have nothing to add to what I have already said. "An investigation is underway into this aviation incident, and until conclusions are drawn from the results of the investigation, we do not consider ourselves entitled to make assessments and we will not do so. We have our aviation authorities who can do this, and this information can only come from them," the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
Earlier, Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabekov demanded an apology from Russia for the crash of an Embraer plane of Azerbaijan Airlines in Kazakhstan, flying from Baku to Grozny. "The plane was shot down on Russian territory, in the sky over Grozny. And it is impossible to deny it," he said. "Those who did this must be brought to justice and compensation must be paid to the victims."
An Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau on the morning of December 25. The plane crashed in Kazakhstan after airports in Russia refused to accept it. There were 67 people on board, including five crew members. As a result of the plane crash, 38 people died.
The Euronews and Reuters news agencies, citing sources in Azerbaijan, reported that Baku believes the cause of the crash was an attack by a Russian anti-aircraft system. The Kremlin has so far refused to admit guilt and announced that it would not make "hypotheses" until the investigation into the plane crash is completed.
Kiev announced that the passenger plane that crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau was hit by Russian air defense. Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council, said that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, traveling from Baku to Grozny, was hit by the Russian military. He criticized Russia for not closing the airspace over the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Grozny, which could have prevented the tragedy. "The plane was damaged by the Russians and was directed towards Kazakhstan, instead of making an emergency landing in Grozny and saving lives," Kovalenko said.