Aliyev hosted Putin in August for a two-day visit, where they chatted in Aliyev’s home. Relations have grown significantly more tense with the deadly Christmas Day crash, which Azerbaijan says was caused by Russian air defenses.
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The deadly Azerbaijani plane crash on Christmas Day is souring Russia’s attempt to keep Baku close.Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly said Russia shot down the plane, and is demanding answers.Putin apologized, but Aliyev is still pressuring Russia and says it must take responsibility.
Azerbaijan’s president has repeatedly accused Russia of covering up the cause of a plane crash that killed 38 passengers on Christmas Day, publicly criticizing Moscow again on Monday.
“The initial investigation and its results have been reported to me, but I can say with full certainty that the blame for the deaths of Azerbaijani citizens in this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation,” Ilham Aliyev said in remarks to state news agency Azertac.
“And we demand justice, we demand punishment of the guilty, we demand full transparency and human behavior,” said Aliyev, who spoke just after meeting families of the crash victims.
His comments mark a sudden and rapidly deepening point of tension between Azerbaijan and Russia as the latter has tried to maintain ties since the outbreak of full war in Ukraine. While Baku and Moscow are not close allies in the traditional sense, Russia supplies arms to Azerbaijan and has sought to be the main mediator for its bitter conflict with Armenia.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin visited Aliyev in August for two days, and the pair were photographed chatting in their work shirts on sofas in Aliyev’s home, alongside the First Lady of Azerbaijan.
The tone in their relations has shifted dramatically since the crash.
Aliyev has repeatedly said that preliminary investigations showed the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was shot down by Russian air defense systems, saying it was “riddled with holes” and affected by electronic warfare. The plane was flying to the Chechen city of Grozny and made its emergency landing in Kazakhstan.
“If timely measures had been taken to close the Russian airspace near the city of Grozny, if all the rules of ground services had been observed, as well as proper coordination between the armed forces of the Russian Federation and civilian services, this tragedy would not have happened,” Aliyev said on Monday.
Notably, Aliyev chose to speak in Russian instead of Azerbaijani, which he said was to honor the flight’s two deceased pilots, who spoke Russian.
The Azerbaijani president said that Baku wasn’t alleging Russia shot down the plane intentionally but accused Russian officials of not investigating the crash properly.
“The cover-up of this incident by Russian state agencies and the focus on absurd theories causes surprise, regret, and rightful indignation,” he said.
Russia’s federal transport agency had initially said the Azerbaijani Airlines flight was struck by birds, then blamed Ukrainian drones and fog for forcing the plane out of Grozny airspace.
The US, on the other hand, has said that it had seen “early indications” that the Azerbaijani Airlines flight was possibly “brought down by Russian air defense systems.”
Meanwhile, Putin’s press office issued an apology on December 28 without taking responsibility for the crash.
“Vladimir Putin offered his apologies that the tragic incident had occurred in Russia’s airspace and once again conveyed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the plane crash victims and wished those injured the quickest recovery,” its statement said.
But Aliyev is refusing to lighten the pressure on Russia, saying that Putin’s apology was “not enough” and that Moscow “must acknowledge its guilt” and punish those responsible.
He added on Monday that investigators were uncovering inconsistencies in Russia’s airspace regulations that he said pointed to “serious criminal issues here.”
The now-widening rift between Moscow and Baku comes as Azerbaijan has sought to reduce Russian influence on regional matters, especially when dealing with its archrival, Armenia.
For example, Russia had stationed peacekeepers in the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh until September 2023, when Azerbaijan seized the area and flushed out Moscow’s forces. Some pro-Kremlin commentators in Russia have also said that Azerbaijani volunteers are appearing among Ukraine’s ranks.
But Russia has responded relatively tamely, as it seeks more ex-Soviet allies to deal with its increasing isolation from Western sanctions and the war in Ukraine.
“I would like to note from the start that our relationship is developing in a positive way,” Putin said in October when hosting Aliyev in Moscow, referencing Russian investments in the Azerbaijani economy.
Per Azertac, Aliyev responded and said that “the dynamics of our bilateral relations have been quite noticeable.”
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