Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally downing an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane was traveling to Grozny in Chechnya before it made an emergency landing near Aktau, the airline said on Wednesday.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency first said the plane crashed after colliding with birds, though it later said Ukrainian combat drones and dense fog forced the plane out of Russian airspace.
Perforations in the plane’s body that look similar to damage from shrapnel or debris led many to believe the plane was shot down by Russian air defense units, including a US official who told CNN that signs pointed to a Russian system striking the plane.
“The fact that the fuselage is riddled with holes indicates that the theory of the plane hitting a flock of birds… is completely removed from the agenda,” Aliyev said Sunday, according to Azerbaijan state media AZERTAC.
The Azerbaijani President said the plane was damaged over Russian territory, adding that “electronic warfare systems put our plane out of control,” AZERTAC reported.
“At the same time, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail of the plane was also severely damaged,” Aliyev continued.
A Russian dispatcher said shortly before the crash that an oxygen tank exploded in the plane’s cabin, Kazakhstan’s Transport Minister Marat Karabayev said on Thursday.
Aliyev said this was “another regrettable and surprising moment” that “clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue, which, of course, is unbecoming of anyone,” AZERTAC reported.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin “apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace” in a phone call with Aliyev, adding that Russian air defenses were active at the time but stopped short of admitting fault.
Russian state media TASS reported that Putin and Aliyev had another call on Sunday, but did not offer any more information on the conversation.
Aliyev said Sunday that instead of making up theories about the reason for the crash, Russia should instead take the blame and apologize fully.
“Of course, our plane was hit by accident… there can be no talk of a deliberate act of terror here,” he said, according to AZERTAC.
“Therefore, admitting the guilt, apologizing in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this – all these were measures and steps that should have been taken,” he continued.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days, we heard nothing from Russia except for some absurd theories,” Aliyev said.
CNN’s Darya Tarasova, Aruzhan Zeinulla, Hassan Tayir, Kosta Gak and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.
