Azerbaijan demands accountability after plane tragedy

- I can confidently say that the representatives of the Russian Federation are responsible for the deaths of Azerbaijani citizens in this catastrophe. We demand justice; we demand punishment for those responsible, we demand full transparency and humane treatment - said the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, during a meeting with the families of the crash victims in Aktau.

He stated that the airspace over Grozny was closed only after the plane was shot down.

- The attempts by Russian state authorities to cover up the incident and to defend absurd versions leave us astonished, saddened, and simply outraged - he said.

He stated that if the airspace over Grozny had been closed in time and actions had been coordinated between Russia's armed forces and civilian services, "this tragedy could have been avoided."

He noted that the process of decoding the "black boxes" is currently ongoing. - I am sure that in the near future we will know the preliminary results and everything will be resolved. We will understand the full picture of the tragedy that occurred. And this will certainly be an important point in the full investigation of this tragedy and the punishment of those responsible for it - he added.

On December 25, a plane from Azerbaijan Airlines flying from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan. There were 67 people on board, and 38 of them died.

Although initial information suggested the plane collided with a flock of birds and experienced a system failure, the true cause soon came to light. All indications point to the actions of the Russian air defence, which was defending against an attack by Ukrainian drones. The missile exploded near the plane, and the debris damaged the aircraft, resulting in the crash.