The downing of an Azerbaijani civilian plane by Russian forces and the subsequent reaction of Russian officials caused major frustration and disappointment in Azerbaijan. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said this in an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya, when asked whether Baku might reconsider its diplomatic relations with Moscow after the incident.
President Ilham Aliyev: “The shooting down of an Azerbaijani civilian plane by Russia, and the reaction of Russian officials to that, created a very big frustration and disappointment in Azerbaijan. First, this shooting shouldn’t have happened in the first place, because when there are drone attacks on Russian airports, they announce a special regime. They call it ‘carpet’ in Russian (‘kover’), and all the planes get a signal that there is a drone attack, and they turn back. Two weeks before this crash, the same happened with our plane, which was flying to the same Russian city, and it got the signal, so it turned back. This time they did not give this signal. They gave the signal after the plane was already shot down. They did it in order just to mislead those who would investigate. They shot it twice. Only the professionalism and courage of the pilots made it possible for the plane to land, and fortunately it landed in Kazakhstan, not in Russia.”
Aliyev stressed that evidence from survivors and the investigation team confirmed the plane had been struck by a Russian air defense system:
“Some people survived, and we have those who gave evidence. We have two people who were in the plane who were injured by the shrapnel, which penetrated the fuselage. We have the remains of the plane, and immediately I sent the team. It’s not far away. It’s only a 40-minute flight. Immediately, our team was there on site, and they filmed everything, so you can find it on the Internet. All the fuselage was full of holes from shrapnel. It was damaged by a Russian air defense system. So shooting down the plane should not have happened in the first place, but it was a tragic mistake.”
The President recalled that during the Second Karabakh War, on 9 November, Azerbaijan had accidentally shot down a Russian helicopter near its border and immediately took full responsibility:
“Immediately, on the same day, I called the Russian president and apologized. We immediately paid compensation to the families of those who were killed—the pilots—and to the Ministry of Defense. We started an investigation, and those who made that tragic mistake were brought to justice. We haven’t seen anything of that sort from the Russian side.”
Aliyev emphasized that this double standard was a “big surprise” and has strained bilateral relations:
“So until now, they have not said what happened. So this, of course, is a serious, serious situation in our bilateral relations, but we did not want to aggravate these relations. Yes, our people were disappointed, angry, and frustrated. We were waiting for the investigation, thinking that sooner or later it would come to an end. Then these unmotivated attacks on Azerbaijanis in Russia started. Two people were killed and tortured, and then the official information was that they died of a heart attack. Even if they committed a crime 20 years ago, as they say, they are people. They must not be treated like that. What kind of attitude is that? There were Azerbaijani citizens among them, as well as Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin. That was an unprecedented act against our people. We are not responsible for the deterioration of relations. We only respond in a constructive and legal manner, but we will never tolerate any sign or demonstration of aggression or disrespect towards us.”
When asked whether he feared Russian moves in the region aimed at stopping Azerbaijan’s initiatives, Aliyev answered:
“Well, they have the military base in Armenia with several thousands military personnel. At the same time, Armenian border with Iran and Turkiye are protected by Russian border security. There is not a single Russian soldier on Azerbaijani soil. So what may happen in Armenia I don’t know, but I don’t want to think about this negative scenario.”
