Russia apologizes for plane crash – Dr. Ahmad Shahidov speaks to Sky News Arabia


Russian President Vladimir Putin made a phone call to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on December 28. During the phone call, Vladimir Putin expressed his apologies regarding the tragic incident involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane operating the Baku-Grozny route on December 25, which was subjected to external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace. President Putin extended his deepest and most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the crash and wished a swift recovery to the injured.

Speaking to Sky News Arabia on the subject, political analyst Dr. Ahmad Shahidov said that the Russian side had been seriously reluctant to confirm the fact for the past 3 days. However, due to the justified demand of the Azerbaijani side and the available evidence, it had to admit that the Azerbaijani plane was shot down. An international investigation is currently underway with the participation of various countries. In the coming days, the results will be announced and it will be officially confirmed that the Azerbaijani plane was shot down by Russian air defense systems. After that, Russia will be required to admit the fact and pay compensation to Azerbaijan.