Baku says Russia is dragging its feet on December’s deadly plane crash

The Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet APA claimed on Monday that Russia has yet to provide Baku with any information uncovered during its alleged investigation into the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines crash in December, despite the matter being raised on a monthly basis.

‘During these five months, no investigative actions have been carried out by Russia. None of the individuals responsible for or guilty of causing the crash have been subjected to any arrest or preventive measures’, an unnamed source told APA.

On 25 December 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet flying from Baku to Grozny crash-landed in the Kazakh city of Aktau, killing 38 people. Following a subsequent preliminary investigation, Azerbaijan accused Russian air defence of striking the plane as it approached its initial destination of Grozny, and then of subsequently obfuscating its role in the incident.

The incident created a significant rise in tension between Azerbaijan and Russia, which normally enjoy a warm relationship.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to publicly apologise and accept blame for the crash, but so far neither Putin nor any other Russian officials have taken responsibility.

In addition, Russia said it had launched its own investigation, but according to APA’s source, there have been no substantive findings released.

Instead, Russia has offered ‘various excuses’ as to why the investigation has not yielded any results.

‘The Azerbaijani side is expecting concrete steps from Russia on the matter’, the source said.

Although relations have warmed a bit since the crash in December, there were nonetheless other signs that Baku is not ready to let the issue go.

On Monday, an op-ed was published in the Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet Aze.Media under the headline, ‘Kremlin miscalculation: Baku won’t forget’.

The article accused Russia of  dragging its feet in the investigation by ‘deliberately creating bureaucratic obstacles, as it is deeply interested in blocking the investigation’.

It further alleged that Azerbaijan is already certain of Russia’s guilt in the matter, and is waiting for criminal charges to be brought against those responsible for pulling the trigger and covering up the aftermath.

‘Baku will not tolerate a long-winded evasive statement from the Russian side with a bitter aftertaste — an apology that sounds ambiguous, insincere, and evasive’, the op-ed read.

‘If Moscow wants to preserve even a shred of dignity and keep Azerbaijan on the rapidly shrinking list of friendly nations, it must change its tactics and stop flaunting the faint remnants of its former imperialism, tainted by the foul aftertaste of great-power chauvinism. And so, Baku waits…’, the op-ed concluded.

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OC MediaAytan Farhadova