‘Impossible to deny’: Azerbaijani lawmaker demands Russia apologize for allegedly downing passenger plane
Azerbaijani parliamentary deputy Rasim Musabekov has demanded that Russia apologize for causing the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 in western Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
“The plane was downed on Russian territory, in the sky over Grozny. This is impossible to deny. […] Those responsible must be held criminally liable and pay compensation for people’s deaths and injuries,” Musabekov told the Azerbaijani news agency Turan.
In Russia, “someone is taking certain actions in the media to cover their tracks on this,” the outlet quoted Musabekov as saying.
The lawmaker also recalled a 2020 incident in which Azerbaijan shot down as Russian helicopter over Armenia, noting that Baku apologized and vowed to punish those responsible. “This is how civilized relationships work. If an air defense system is working, then the airport should be closed; it should be announced so that nobody will fly there. Therefore the perpetrators must be brought the justice,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, multiple media outlets quoted Azerbaijani government officials as saying that the aircraft’s crash was indeed caused by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.
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