The crash of the AZAL aircraft is our shared tragedy and the grief of three countries. The plane belonged to Azerbaijan, and citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan died on board.

Axar.az reports that these words were said by Russian expert on international conflicts Vitali Arkov while commenting on the preliminary report published the day before about the AZAL plane crash near Aktau.

In December of last year, Putin called his counterpart Ilham Aliyev twice, offered condolences, apologized, and explained the possible reasons. The situation was discussed in detail during the conversation. It was stated that based on the results of the investigations conducted by aviation experts, relevant decisions would be made, and those found guilty would be punished. The preliminary results of the investigation were only presented a day ago. Time is needed at the government level to study them and prepare solutions. Let’s be patient. The relations between our countries and peoples are sincere, and I do not hesitate to say this – they are close. Russia will not deliberately harm Azerbaijan in any way. The personal statements of certain bloggers and politicians who seek to gain fame on the basis of a human tragedy should not be considered state policy," he said.

It should be noted that the passenger plane operating the Baku-Grozny route, belonging to AZAL, was shot down by the Russian air defense system in Grozny on December 25, 2024. Since permission for landing was denied, the plane headed towards Kazakhstan and crashed near Aktau Airport. Of the 67 people on board, 38 were killed, and 29 survived.

The preliminary report regarding the crash was released yesterday. The report confirms that the plane crashed due to external interference and severe damage sustained in the airspace over Grozny.