As you know, a State Commission has been established and is currently operational. Additionally, on my instructions, the Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan has opened a criminal case. The preliminary investigation of the case once again confirms the theory I mentioned.

Axar.az reports that President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said this at the meeting with the families of the crew members who lost their lives and the surviving flight attendants from the crash of an Embraer 190 passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC on the Baku-Grozny route.

"We had already received preliminary information about this on 29 December, and in an interview with Azerbaijan State Television after the farewell ceremony, I conveyed to the Azerbaijani people both my own views and the information provided by the investigation. I stated that the Azerbaijani public would be regularly updated on the progress of the investigation," he underlined.