In Azerbaijan, Anger Toward Russia Simmers After Plane Crash Report
Commentators in Azerbaijan have reacted to a preliminary report on the Dec. 25 crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane with another round of scathing criticism of Russia, which Azerbaijan accuses of accidentally firing on the aircraft from the ground. The report that was released on Tuesday by Kazakhstan, where the passenger plane crashed after diverting from a planned landing in Russia, did not clear up whether Russia had fired on the plane, saying only that objects that were not part of the plane had struck it and caused significant damage. While a full report is in the works, that could take many more months, during which time tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia are likely to stew or escalate unless Azerbaijan gets the full apology and accountability that it demands. Some analysts in Azerbaijan are already fuming about what they characterize as an evasive statement by Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya about the preliminary report on the crash that killed 38 out of the 67 people on the plane. The Russian statement on Telegram noted that the report “does not contain conclusions about the causes of the incident” and acknowledged that the plane was damaged by external impacts. “However, the report does not indicate that the Kazakh side identified foreign objects inside the aircraft, while the Russian Federation has not yet had the opportunity to examine these elements, as they have not been handed over for expert analysis,” Rosaviatsiya said. The statement also notes that the crew of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane on the Baku-Grozny route “independently” decided to divert to Aktau, Kazakhstan, even though Russian air traffic controllers had proposed other Russian airports for landing. Lastly, it says the pilots of the Embraer 190 aircraft told Russian air traffic controllers that there had been a bird strike and an oxygen cylinder explosion on the plane, theories that have been widely attributed to the pilots’ confusion at the time and have since been almost entirely discredited. “This means that the Russian side is still clinging to the crew's assumptions as a lifeline. While Baku does not accuse Moscow of deliberately downing the aircraft, it is strongly urging Russia to take responsibility,” Samir Veliyev wrote in an analysis on Caliber, a Baku-based news organization. “The situation as it stands today clearly shows that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Russian side to deny its involvement in the incident. So why drag this out? Baku will not back down from its already stated position, which is based on irrefutable facts,” Veliyev wrote. Another news outlet in Azerbaijan, aze.media, said Russia knew about the investigation results in advance and could have acknowledged its alleged role. “But instead, the Kremlin, as always, chose the ‘we know nothing’ tactic and decided to simply ignore the obvious,” aze.media said in an opinion piece. Numerous aviation and security specialists have said damage to the plane’s fuselage is consistent with shrapnel marks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in a phone conversation. However, the...