Aliyev: Russia must admit guilt in Azerbaijan Airlines crash, punish those responsible, and pay compensation

The Azerbaijani government has made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau: it must apologize, admit guilt, punish the perpetrators, and pay compensation to the victims. Azerbaijan has also stepped up its demands for Russian citizens to become a country.


The Azerbaijani government has made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the country's television.

According to him, the demands were officially conveyed to the Russian side on December 27.

"What were they? First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, the guilty must be punished, brought to justice, and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions. The first of them was completed yesterday. I hope that our other conditions will also be accepted," the Azerbaijani president said.

Aliyev stressed that all the demands made were fair. "There are no extraordinary demands or problems here, this is based on international experience and the principles of normal human behavior," he said.

Recall that on the morning of December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. 38 people died. The plane was shot down by Russian air defense systems.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani government has made changes to the conditions for temporary stay of Russian citizens on the territory of Azerbaijan starting from January 1, 2025.

According to the resolution, "citizens of the Russian Federation and stateless persons permanently residing in the Russian Federation who have entered the Republic of Azerbaijan without a visa cannot stay in the country for more than 90 days in one calendar year."

The resolution was signed by Prime Minister Ali Asadov.

A day earlier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced that Baku would take retaliatory measures against Russia's new rules and tougher requirements for Azerbaijanis to stay in the Russian Federation.