Azerbaijan's president says Russia unintentionally shot down crashed jetliner

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said that Russia unintentionally shot down an Azerbaijani Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people. Aliyev on Sunday called for Russia to admit guilt and pay compensation for the incident.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.

"We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television.

Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare." Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.

“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.

(AP)

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