Azerbaijan Mulls Praise from Chechnya Two Months After Crash

Two months ago, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan after – Azerbaijan says – it was accidentally hit by Russian ground fire in the Russian region of Chechnya. Now Chechnya’s leader says he wants to give an award to the surviving crew members, an announcement that initially angered some people in Azerbaijan, considering the alleged culpability of forces on the ground. Two of five crewmembers survived the Dec. 25 crash that killed a total of 38 people on the airliner that had been flying from Baku to Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, only to divert across the Caspian Sea and crash near the Kazakh city of Aktau. Twenty-nine people survived. A preliminary report led by Kazakhstan ruled out technical malfunction and said parts of the plane were hit by foreign objects. The report didn’t confirm the objects were missile shrapnel. On Feb. 27, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has sent troops to fight with Russian forces against Ukraine, said surviving Azerbaijan Airlines flight attendants Zulfugar Asadov and Aydan Rahimli had been nominated for the "For Merit to the Chechen Republic" award because of their courage and professionalism. “In memory of the victims of the air disaster, a memorial plaque will be installed in Grozny,” Kadyrov said on Telegram. “Flight attendants have always been the first line of support for passengers, ensuring their safety and comfort during flights. In the face of crisis, they acted swiftly and decisively, doing everything they could to assist those on board, said Kadyrov, who expressed condolences to Azerbaijan and its people and spoke of “our shared grief.” Media in Azerbaijan widely covered Kadyrov’s statement about the flight attendants, which was unlikely to ease Azerbaijani demands that those suspected of shooting at the airliner be turned over for prosecution. On the contrary, the Caliber.Az media outlet reported that the Chechen leader’s award was initially met with “public outrage” in Azerbaijan. However, another Azerbaijan-based organization, the Trend News Agency, said Azerbaijan had concluded that Kadyrov’s statement was “acceptable” because investigations showed that Russian military personnel, not Chechnya’s leadership, were responsible. Trend cited an unidentified source in Azerbaijan’s government. Kadyrov is a Putin loyalist with considerable autonomy whose forces have been accused of killings, disappearances and other abuses. Chechen troops, sometimes compared to a private army, are nominally under federal Russian control. Putin has apologized for the crash, saying Russian air defenses were repelling attacks by Ukrainian drones at the time when the Azerbaijani plane was trying to land. He has not acknowledged that the plane was hit by Russian fire.

Tensions Rise as Uzbek Leaders Respond to Ramzan Kadyrov’s Remarks

Uzbekistan has placed two residents of Chechnya, Bislan Rasayev and Shamil Temirkhanov, on Interpol’s wanted list. The Times of Central Asia has previously reported that the two men are accused of multiple crimes, including a plot to assassinate Komil Allamjonov, the former head of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's information policy department, and Dmitry Li, head of the National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP). Rasayev and Temirkhanov were reportedly offered $1.5 million for the assassinations. Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov has called the arrest warrants "fabrications". Kadyrov claims that pro-Western media are spreading baseless rumors about divisions within Mirziyoyev’s family as part of a larger effort to destabilize the country’s leadership. The attempt on Allamjonov's life is said to have taken place on October 26 outside his home in Tashkent’s Kibray district. According to Uzbek media, two unidentified individuals fired multiple shots at Allamjonov’s car before fleeing the scene. No injuries were reported. Opposition outlets speculated about a “Chechen connection,” suggesting Kadyrov’s possible involvement in the attack. In an earlier statement, Kadyrov said that “if I had really planned something, I would have completed it with a 100% result.” He also expressed skepticism about the investigation’s timeline, noting that Li was identified as a secondary target only months after the probe began. Kadyrov suggested that the case could be part of internal “behind-the-scenes games” orchestrated by certain groups. In response, Uzbek officials and lawmakers condemned Kadyrov’s statements and threats. Rasul Kusherbayev, a former deputy and adviser to the Minister of Ecology, described Kadyrov’s comments as terrorism. “Open threats to officials in Uzbekistan are terrorism. Those who make such statements or attempt such actions must be held accountable,” he said. Kusherbayev also criticized the Uzbek government for remaining silent in the face of these threats. “Why should the government of Uzbekistan remain silent? How long will we tolerate those who openly threaten us with chauvinistic views? The response should go beyond mere statements - it should involve concrete measures. If necessary, flights to Grozny should be canceled, and every Chechen citizen entering Uzbekistan should be strictly vetted,” he added. Odiljon Tojiyev, a deputy of Uzbekistan’s Legislative Chamber, similarly denounced Kadyrov’s interference in Uzbekistan’s internal affairs and his threats against Uzbek officials. He warned that such actions could harm relations between Uzbekistan and Chechnya. “I call on the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation to assess Ramzan Kadyrov’s threats against Uzbek officials. Moreover, Kadyrov should issue a public apology to the people of Uzbekistan. If he is truly a friend, he should assist Uzbekistan’s Prosecutor General’s Office in locating and extraditing Bislan Rasayev and Shamil Temirkhanov,” Tojiyev stated. Kadyrov’s remarks and the allegations surrounding the assassination attempt have brought tensions between Uzbekistan and Chechnya into the spotlight. While Uzbekistan values its friendly relations with Russia and its regions, the controversy has prompted calls for firm action to protect the country’s sovereignty and ensure accountability.