Aliyev says Azerbaijan is preparing to take Russia to court over deadly plane crash
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that Baku is preparing to file a lawsuit in international court against Russia over its failure to properly take responsibility for causing the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) jet in December 2024.
The jet, which was flying from Baku to Grozny, crash-landed near the Kazakh city of Aktau, killing 38 passengers and crew members. Azerbaijan has said the flight was downed by a Russian air defence system and demanded that the Kremlin admit guilt and pay reparations, as well as hold those directly involved responsible. While Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised for the incident, he has not directly taken responsibility, leading to a sharp deterioration of bilateral relations.
Aliyev reiterated that even though many months had passed since the incident occurred, ‘we have not received any response from Russian officials’.
‘We know what happened, and we can prove it. And we know that Russian officials know what happened’.
Aliyev continued, saying, ‘our requests or demands are absolutely natural: Admit that this accident was their fault; Punish those who shot down our plane; Pay compensation to the families of the victims, to those who were wounded, and to AZAL for the loss of the plane’.
He went on to dismiss various theories that Russia has put forth to try and explain the incident, particularly emphasising the allegation that a Ukrainian drone had struck the plane.
‘That’s a story for kindergarten’, Aliyev said.
In light of the failure for Russia to be forthcoming about the findings of its investigation, Aliyev said, ‘we are now preparing — and have informed the Russian side — that we are preparing a case to apply to the international judicial system’.
He did not specify to which body Baku was planning to take the case, but added that ‘we know this may take time’.
Referencing the court case against Russia in another deadly plane crash — the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 — Aliyev said ‘The Malaysian Boeing case took more than 10 years. So, we will wait for 10 years. But justice must be achieved’.
Responding to the news, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, ‘investigative actions are underway, and the investigation is ongoing. If Azerbaijan makes such a decision, it is Azerbaijan’s right, and we will await the official verdicts’.
Javid Agha
