President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev spoke on central television, stating that the plane crash near Aktau occurred "as a result of ground fire".
"The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian plane sustained external damage over Russian territory, in the area of the city of Grozny, and practically lost control. We also know that our plane was taken out of control by electronic warfare means," Aliyev said, emphasizing that the final result of the investigation will be known after the "black boxes" are opened.
Later, Aliyev reported that Russia "wants to cover up the issue" regarding the causes of the plane crash near Aktau, writes the publication Caliber. At the same time, the head of Azerbaijan emphasized that the plane was not deliberately shot down.
"One of the points that saddened and surprised us was that Russian official structures put forward versions about the explosion of some gas cylinder. This openly showed that the Russian side wants to cover up the issue, and this, of course, does not do anyone any honor," the publication quotes him, adding that for the first three days the country's authorities "heard nothing from Russia but absurd versions".
The Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines, which was flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25. There were 69 passengers and five crew members on board. 29 people survived and were taken to the hospital.
One of the versions of the crash was a hit by a Russian missile, as air defense systems were operating in the sky over Grozny at that time. However, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency insists on the version of a bird strike. The day before, Vladimir Putin called Aliyev and apologized for the "tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace".
Photo: RIA Novosti